


Out of the Sky

by LeNoLifeLoser



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Im a sucker for John Murphy Im sorry hes gonna be around, Lexa plays soccer when shes not being a fine stud, basically the air disasters au no one asked for, buckle up because this is going to be a ride, pretty much everyone will be in this, there will be some deaths but I promise not Lexa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 18:14:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 53,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6294658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeNoLifeLoser/pseuds/LeNoLifeLoser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Clarke Griffin,” Clarke introduced herself.<br/><br/>“Lexa,” She nodded curtly. “I’m sending the survivors towards you, you can handle that?” She wasn’t condescending, but Clarke couldn’t help take offense.<br/><br/>“Of course I can, this is my job.” She snapped.<br/><br/>“Surviving plane crashes? Shitty job.” The girl responded, arching an eyebrow and marching away, snapping at a teammate nearby.<br/><br/>Clarke growled and turned towards the people being herded away from the wreckage, in the center of a field of debris, panels of metal and bags and strips of clothing everywhere. She couldn’t run, but she limped as quickly as possible towards the group. “Everybody listen to me! I’m an EMT, if you’re in need of immediate attention move to the left, if not, move to the right. Keep calm, help is on the way.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Short first chapter, but the next one and most succeeding chapters will be much longer, promise. Updates will probably be sporadic, but I'll try to give you something on the weekends. Spring break is this week so I'll work on getting ahead and uploading the pre-written chapters when I can't sit down to write.  
> Check out my tumblr, purely writing stuff, http://nolifeloserwriting.tumblr.com/

“Mom, we have to _go_!” Clarke whined, speed walking across the airport. Terminal in sight, so close, _so close._

“I’m coming, Clarke!” Abby rolled her eyes, jogging to catch up as she fumbled with the papers in her hands. “Hold on!”

“We’re going to be late, look they’re just about the close the doors! Wait! We’re here!” Clarke called to the airport attendees. They made it to the gate just in time, shoving their boarding passes into the hands of the flustered attendee and running down the terminal. “See, mom, this is why I hate being late! There aren’t any seats next to each other.” Clarke tossed a glare over her shoulder to her mother.

Abby huffed. “Clarke, it’s just one flight. You can handle sitting next to someone you don’t know.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’m going to go find a seat. I’ll see you after the flight.” She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and scanned the aisles for an empty seat.

As she marched forward, dragging her shoulder bag with her, her bad mood worsened as the further back she got, no empty seats appeared. Finally, she reached a row with an empty seat. Of course it was a center seat, but at this point, Clarke was desperate.

Closest to the window a friendly-looking, young man sat, smiling up at her. In the aisle seat, a grumpy looking young woman sat, she had a soccer jersey on, but she pointedly ignored Clarke to glare at another few people across the aisle.

Clarke awkwardly sat down between them, stuffing her bag beneath the seat in front of her. “Well, looks like my day got better, not only am I heading towards a beautiful place, but I get to sit next to a stunning girl the whole way there.” The young man spoke from her side. “You look like you’ve had a rough day.”

Clarke startled and looked to him. In a normal circumstance she might have brushed him off, maybe even gotten offended, but the look on his face told her that he was simply being friendly, and meant nothing by it. She smiled shyly. “Ah, thank you.” She looked away, touching her hair self-consciously. “Yeah, my mom nearly made us miss the flight. I hate being late.”

He laughed gently. “Understandable. Anyway, I’m Wells and I’ll be your seatmate for this flight. I hope you don’t find me too irritating.”

“I’m Clarke, and don’t worry, you don’t seem _that_ awful.” She teased.

His laugh was hearty and full. Clarke couldn’t help but join in with him. As the engines of the plane started up and they began to move down the runway, Clarke stiffened and gripped the arms of her chair. “Hey there, Clarke, no worries we’re just about to take off.”

Clarke smiled bashfully. “I’m sorry, just I get a little tense during take offs and landings. I should be fine during the rest of it though.”

Wells nodded in understanding. “I get it. You know, you’re more likely to die from a shark attack than a plane crash? Besides, my dad’s the pilot. Trust me, you’re in good hands.”

Clarke took a deep breath as the engines revved again and they took off down the runway. Wells was silent as the plane lifted into the air. Slowly they leveled off, the ground disappearing from view in the porthole window as they lifted above the clouds. Clarke slowly expelled the air from her lungs and deflated a bit, relaxing her shoulders and wringing her wrists. “Thank you. Your father’s the pilot?”

Wells nodded, an easy smile on his face. “Yeah, he’s always travelling, and when he got this flight scheduled this week, I decided to come along and we’re making a vacation out of it.”

Clarke smiled. “I hear Japan is beautiful. I have to catch a connecting flight to one of the smaller islands to the south. My mother and I are doctors going to visit some of the poorer villages.”

“Really? That’s so cool! I can see why you were so desperate not to be late.”

Clarke smiled, opening her mouth to say something else. “Clarke!” Clarke’s head whipped around at the familiar voice.

“Raven!” Clarke stared up in shock. “Wow it’s been awhile! What are you doing here?”

Raven smiled, sending a wink. “I have an engineer friend who needs help down in Tokyo. I’m sitting near your mom up front. Figured I’d come say hi.”

“Great, you said hello, can you move now? I’m trying to talk to my friend.” The girl next to Clarke grumbled. Raven flipped her the bird. “Anyway we need to get together and catch up some. I’ve missed you, you know since Finn and all.”

Clarke nodded, remembering her ex-boyfriend. Coincidentally also Raven’s ex-boyfriend. “I’m staying in Japan for a while. We should be back home in a few months though.”

Raven smiled, pushing a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “Sounds good. See you then, Kid. Call me sometime, yeah? Maybe we can swing by and egg Finn’s car or something.”

“Still bitter?”

Another wink, and Raven turned. “Always.”

With that, she walked away. Clarke laughed to herself. “Small world.” Wells chuckled from beside her. “I’d hate to be Finn though.”

Clarke scoffed. “Finn cheated on me with Raven. Or the other way around, I suppose. Either way, he certainly deserves it.”

Wells nodded enthusiastically. “Have you tried filling water balloons with paint and throwing them at his house? Or his car?”

Clarke laughed. “No but I’ll definitely tell Raven about that one!”

A comfortable silence fell between the two as Clarke glanced around the rest of the plane. The girl next to her was leaning on her armrest to talk to a couple of girls in matching soccer jerseys across the aisle. She accidentally made eye contact with one of them, a pretty brunette with nice green eyes, and attempted to fight back a blush as the hint of a smirk graced her lips. She turned as quickly as possible away from her.

Thankfully, Wells rescued her from the smirking athlete after a little rummaging around. “You play chess? I have a travel set.”

Clarke smiled at Wells. “Yeah, sure I’ll play.”

Nearly three hours passed with the two chattering about everything and nothing while playing chess. Wells told her about his father teaching him as a kid, and Clarke told Wells about her father’s passion for community service before he died. Wells made great company and Clarke found herself enjoying his friendly chatter.

“Shut up, Bellamy, you had no right!” A female voice from behind them shrieked.

“Octavia! Quiet down!”

Clarke and Wells made awkward eye contact as the voices lowered just enough for the words to jumble together, but they caught the tone of the conversation as clear as day. “Well…” Wells trailed off. “Someone seems unhappy.”

Clarke nodded, lips tight. “That’s awkward.”

The two of them laughed the tension off and resumed their game, only to be interrupted once more. A loud boom sounded first, and Clarke felt her stomach drop, at first everything seemed fine, and then chaos rained down on them.

Clarke could see smoke out of the window near Wells head, and he whipped around to see it. They gripped the armrests of their seats, Wells’ knuckles turning white with the force he gripped Clarke’s hand with as loud cracks sounded down the length of the plane. Clarke’s eyes darted around the cabin, catching glimpses of scared faces, soccer jerseys, and falling cargo as turbulence shook the frame of the plane.

The passengers were jostled and tossed about as the metal cage around them shrieked and screamed from the pressure. Clarke didn’t know which was worse, the noise of the plane, or the panicked screeches of everyone around her.

The plane turned to its side and Clarke screwed her eyes shut, she couldn’t bear to look out the window beside Wells, she didn’t want to see the water rushing up at her. She didn’t want to see Wells’ panicked face. She didn’t want to see her grave.

The plane righted itself and twisted sideways, then they were backwards, and then the other side of the plane led the wreckage in motion. They were spinning like a fucking top and Clarke was positive she was going to die. Clarke refused to open her eyes, but her heart dropped further when she heard an indescribable squeal, and suddenly she could feel the rush of the wind around them.

Her eyes wrenched open, and the world was spinning, upside down, then right side up, then sideways and backwards and everything was a rush of blues. The blue sky the blue water the sky the water the blue seats- if she weren’t so damn scared she’d puke. Bags and debris flew about the halved cabin and screams were ripped from the passengers’ throats and Clarke couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe, all she could do was watch, as if from somewhere outside her body as she fell to her death.

An awful crash, and the fuselage crumbles beside her, the window shatters and she feels the pieces cut her face, but as the plane lifts back into the air with a spray of water and –was that sand?- Clarke loses consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Clarke regained consciousness moments later, and by some miracle she was upright and alive. Her medical training kicked in and immediately she worked to calming herself. She allowed herself one, awful, horribly dark moment to panic, and then she gasped, air rushing into her lungs. The sound had nearly silenced, besides a few panicked screams, mostly names. She turned to Wells. “Wells,” She croaked, then her eyes adjusted to the sight beside her.

Bright light, a few cables broke the scenic beach beside her, of course the metal debris and the bloody bodies didn’t do much for the picturesque shore, but what startled her the most, was that Wells was nowhere to be seen. He was gone.

There was a sinking in her chest as she glanced down, fearful for what she would see.

Upon seeing the hand, still gripping hers, dark skin covered in blood, Clarke filled her lungs and screamed. She wrenched her hand away and clawed at her seat belt, with a click, she was free and scrambling away into the person on the other side of her.

“Holy shit!” Clarke yelped. Finally, calming herself once more, she turned to the girl practically beneath her. She had been impaled by a twisted hunk of metal. The girl’s high cheekbones were splattered with blood and her black soccer jersey stuck to her wound. Clarke’s training kicked into high gear and she immediately felt for a pulse. Faint, but there, if the girl could just hang on for a little while until help arrived, she may survive. The clothes sticking to her should help stem some of the blood flow, but until Clarke could see just what was damaged, she won’t touch the girl. She’d better check on everyone else. She could hear other survivors but she needed to know how badly they were all hurt.

Clarke climbed very carefully over the girl’s lap, and into the cluttered aisle of the fuselage. Directly across from the girl were three empty seats, all three of her friends must have made it out safely. Clarke stumbled down the aisle, she had a hurt ankle, she’d have to stop and check just how badly later, but her priority lay in taking care of the other survivors.

There were a lot of bodies. Some were battered and bloodied, others entirely torn apart by debris. As she reached the back of the plane, some of those bodies started to be interspersed with live people, panicking people, injured people. She couldn’t do much about the bodies, but the survivors, she could still help them.

The first pair of struggling survivors she came across had sat two seats behind her. The man was still unconscious, but the girl was loudly calling his name, shaking his shoulder.

“Bellamy! Bellamy I swear to god I will kill you if you die!” The girl threatened, tears streaming down her face. “Bellamy!”

Clarke leaned over the girl to reach Bellamy. “Can you see any wounds?” She asked the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder and reaching over to feel his wrist. “He’s alive, that’s good.”

The girl stared up with distrust. “I don’t see any wounds.”

“I’m an EMT. He likely passed out from getting hit on the head, or the impact of the crash, unbuckle his seat belt and we’ll get him out of here. He’ll be okay, help is on its way.” Clarke assured, helping the girl get the man from his seat.

The girl nodded, clawing at his arm desperately, the two girls struggled to carry his weight, but upon stepping from the plane, onto the beach, Clarke found she had much more work to do. People were spread across the sand, bleeding, crying for loved ones, staring at the wreckage in shock.

And then one of the engines blew up.

Well, it didn’t _blow up_. The engine had slowed considerably since the crash, and it sounded more like a deafening, yet harmless, pop that did nothing to qualm the fear sitting in Clarke’s gut, or the panic written across every survivor around her. “C’mon!” She called to the girl on the other side of the man. “We should get him away from the wreckage!”

The girl nodded and tugged the man away towards the tree line. A couple of girls in soccer jerseys raced past them, back into the plane. “Echo! Try and get those people over there!” A female voice commanded several yards away. She stood in one of the soccer jerseys, brunette braids down her back, covering her name and half of the number eight. “They’re in shock, we need to get them away from the plane!”

Clarke helped the girl set the man down and limped over to the girl who seemed to be taking charge, ordering her teammates about to help the survivors. They worked like a well-oiled machine, even after the shock of the crash. It helped to have a grounded leader.

She reached the girl, panting and caught her attention. “I’m an EMT. I can help.”

The girl turned to Clarke and nodded. “I have my teammates retrieving survivors from the plane, now that the remaining engine has blown we should be okay for now, but I’m worried about that fuel line, that engine’s still sparking. If a fire starts now it’s gonna get hot, quick.” She spoke quickly, as if she expected Clarke to somehow keep up immediately. Was this girl fazed by anything? “They’re taking the injured over there, far enough away from the wreckage.” Clarke opened her mouth to respond but the girl plowed on. “I sent a couple of girls down the beach to see if there are any survivors anywhere else, and maybe bring help or something. Tris said that there’s no cell service, so don’t bother, you’re hurt.” She stopped, staring down at Clarke.

Clarke hesitated a moment, letting everything sink in. “It’s just my ankle, I’m fine.”

“The blood?”

“Not mine.” Clarke stopped a moment. “The man next to me, is, uh, well, it’s probably his.”

The girl nodded and stepped forward to shuffle an older woman towards where the survivors were gathering. “Go tend to the survivors, keep them as calm as you can, we don’t need people panicking and hurting themselves or others even more. What’s your name?”

“Clarke Griffin,”

“Lexa,” She nodded curtly. “I’m sending them towards you, you can handle that?” She wasn’t condescending, but Clarke couldn’t help take offense.

“Of course I can, this is my job.” She snapped.

“Surviving plane crashes? Shitty job.” The girl responded, arching an eyebrow and marching away, snapping at a teammate nearby.

Clarke growled and turned towards the people being crowded away from the wreckage, in the center of a field of debris, panels of metal and bags and strips of clothing everywhere. She couldn’t run, but she limped as quickly as possible towards the group. “Everybody listen to me! I’m an EMT, if you’re in need of immediate attention move to the left, if not, move to the right. Keep calm, help is on the way.”

Clarke couldn’t do much for the various gashes and broken bones, not without supplies. She squatted by a woman around her age first, she was pale and had a dislocated hip, and several cuts down her legs and arms. Clarke looked back towards Lexa as she jogged towards one of her teammates and the girl Clarke helped earlier. “Lexa!” Lexa whipped around to meet Clarke’s eyes, tilting her head in question. “Bandages,” She mouthed, knowing Lexa couldn’t hear her over the hysteria around her.

Lexa nodded once and barked something to passersby, pointing and motioning towards Clarke. Within a couple of minutes Clarke had several t-shirts and socks handed to her from suitcases nearby by out-of-breath soccer players. These people couldn’t be real.

She spoke calmly to her patients, repeatedly telling them that they would be okay and that help was on its way. Her dressings were admittedly sloppy, she didn’t have much to work with to be fair, but they would do the trick. She had several dislocated joints she decided to leave alone, without an x-ray she ran the risk of injuring them further, and frankly that was unnecessary when they would all be taken to the hospital later.

She worked quickly, but even then, it felt like an eternity. Clarke stood to face the wreckage, finding things had simmered down when somebody called her name. “Griffin!”

One of the soccer players jogged to her. “It’s Anya, we don’t want to move her…”

Clarke stopped her. “Impaled?” The girl nodded, paling. “She sat next to me. Pulse?”

“Still there,” She took a deep breath. “But it’s looking bad.”

Clarke nodded, but her first step towards the plane nearly sent her to the ground. The girl caught her and slung an arm around her waist, helping her limp towards the plane. Clarke wasn’t exactly eager to reenter the fuselage, but someone needed her help.

Finally, upon reaching Anya’s side, Clarke found her awake, and hyperventilating. “Anya,” She spoke soothingly, checking her pulse and surveying the wound. “Anya, I need you to slow your breathing okay? Slow it down, breathe with me okay?” After an exaggerated example, Anya levelled her breathing as much as someone could when a twisted hunk of metal stuck from her chest. Clarke turned to the girl who had helped her. “I can’t pull it out, not right now at least. We should move her.”

The girl nodded. “I’ll get Lexa.”

“Tri- is“ Anya choked, reaching out for the girl.

“I’ll be right back, Cap.” Tris gave a shaky smile and jogged from the plane, calling for Lexa.

“Anya, can you move your arm?” Anya glared at her, shivering, waiting for her friends to return. Clarke sighed. “Anya, you have to answer my questions otherwise I can’t-“

“Cap!” Tris returned with three girls, including Lexa.

“Okay, Dr. Griffin, how should we do this?” Lexa turned to her with a level stare. Clarke missed the crease between her brows, but this was her terrain, she could handle this, even if she wasn’t technically a doctor. She decided not to correct Lexa. Now’s not the time.

“Okay, this is really, really, dangerous. But I can’t take it out with her sitting up like this. Just, keep her chest as steady as possible, support her head.” The girls took their positions around Anya’s body. Anya moved her left hand, grasping Lexa’s forearm with reassuring force. At least reassuring to Clarke, if she can grip Lexa’s arm then she has enough strength to possibly survive.

Clarke lunged towards Anya’s right arm as it fell at her side limply, but she wasn’t able to catch it in time before Anya let out a long scream from between her teeth. Clarke could hear her teeth grinding as her jaw clenched. “Try and keep this steady.” Clarke mumbled to Tris. “If she moves too much the shrapnel could pierce her lungs. We’re lucky as it is that it’s exactly where it is.”

“You mean sticking from my chest?” Anya snarled, eyes alight with pain and rage.

Clarke bit back a retort and simply followed the girls as they shuffled from the fuselage and onto the beach. “Echo, Indra, calm the others down, they’re freaking out over Anya.” Lexa sent the two away as soon as Anya was set safely down. “Dr. Griffin?”

Clarke ran through the checklist in her head. For the first time, she recognized that she hadn’t seen her mother. “She sat at the front of the plane.” She murmured, shutting her eyes and pressing them back into her skull with the heels of her palms. Abby Griffin was most certainly dead.

“What?” Lexa stared down at her curiously, hand on her friend’s shoulder. Anya had fallen unconscious again.

“Um, nothing.” Her mother would be better at this, she was an actual doctor, with surgical experience to boot. Not to mention they were on a fucking _beach_. Not an ideal location for removing shrapnel so close to the lungs. “If I pull it out she’ll bleed, a lot, and I don’t have anything to close the wound with, not to mention without an x-ray-“

“Will she be okay?” Lexa cut her rambling off sharply.

Clarke let out a frustrated breath. “That’s what I’m trying to get at. She could be okay. She could survive if we get her to a hospital soon. The fact that she’s survived this long is a good sign. It means that the shrapnel likely missed anything vital, but we should keep the sand away from her wound and keep it covered with a bandage or something until they get here and airlift her out. She’s the most critical out of all the survivors, so they’ll take her first, don’t worry.”

Lexa rolled her eyes. “Like hell, don’t worry.” She grumbled.

“What do you want me to do, Lexa? Rip it out and risk severing an artery? Puncture a lung and watch her choke to death on her own blood?” Clarke snapped. “Give me a goddamn break!”

Lexa clenched her jaw, maybe it was a soccer thing, and looked back over her friend. “I’ll find something to wrap it with.” With that, she stood and stalked down the beach, leaving Clarke with Tris.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Tris begin to shiver as she stared at her friend. Clarke had a sneaking suspicion it was due to shock, but now that things had calmed significantly and Lexa had stopped ordering her around Tris would likely be okay.

Once Lexa returned with some clothes, Clarke wrapped the wound as best she could and left Tris and Lexa with instructions not to let her move if she woke again. Lexa stood with her and helped her silently as she went around treating the other survivors. Despite their initial head bashing, Clarke had to admit she and Lexa worked well together. Lexa provided panicked survivors with little jobs to do, even as mundane as collecting suitcases, to keep them busy rather than screaming.

As Clarke helped a girl, the one whose brother she helped out of the fuselage, clean her forehead gash, she looked to Lexa. “You have emergency training don’t you?”

Lexa nodded absently. “Volunteer firefighter. Have had some awful close calls, but nothing compares to this I guess.”

“When is help supposed to get here?” The girl asked, looking to Lexa.

Lexa shrugged a shoulder. “Depends on how far out we are. This island could be a couple of hours away from help. There’ll be helicopters here by nightfall to take the more seriously injured. Don’t worry-“

“Octavia.” The girl supplied.

“Octavia,” Lexa dipped her head in acquiescence. “We’ll be out of here by tomorrow morning.”

Clarke gave Octavia a hopefully reassuring half smile. “Has your brother woken up?”

Octavia rolled her eyes and nodded. “He’s over there in the shade. He says he has an awful headache. Being a real dick about it.”

Clarke couldn’t help the smile stretch across her face. “That’s to be expected. Was his head hit?”

“He doesn’t remember.”

“That’s normal. He most likely has a concussion.”

Octavia scoffed. “His entire personality is one giant concussion.”

Clarke chuckled before hobbling back to her feet. “Looks like you’ll be fine. It’s a tiny gash, won’t even need stitches. Try to keep the sand out of it though.” As Clarke looked over the group of survivors, she sighed. They were bruised and bloodied and tired, but for the most part she had gotten to the worst of it.

“You should wrap that ankle already.” Lexa spoke bluntly.

Clarke turned to Lexa with a raised brow. “I’m fine.”

Lexa smirked. “So the stereotype is true, doctors make the worst patients.”

“I’m an EMT actually.”

“Reassuring.” Lexa gave a small smile before turning back to the survivors. “I’m going to see how Anya is doing. Let me know if you need anything.”

Clarke nodded before searching for a strip of cloth. Someone’s old pair of jeans would do. She found a patch of shade away from the debris and pulled her tennis shoe off and rolled up her own jeans. After some poking and prodding and moving, she decided that her ankle was just sprained and that she’d be fine if she just kept it wrapped well enough.

After wrapping her ankle she took a look at the plane again and a rush of shock washed over her. It was a damn _miracle_ she was alive.

But her mother. _Her mother was at the front of the plane_. Her heart sank to her gut. The plane had been torn in half, she was sure her mother was dead. _And Raven._ Raven was probably dead too. Her best friend and mother lost on the same day. She shuddered to think about Wells. He had been sweet, and his arm still gripped her hand, even when the rest of him had been ripped away.

Clarke gagged. She’d seen some gruesome things, hell she was an EMT for fuck’s sake. She’d seen her fair share of horrifying, but nothing like that. Clarke wondered if she’d ever get the image of peeling his disembodied fingers from her wrist out of her mind.

It wasn’t long before someone else called her over for help. She had a kid with a broken arm, not much she could do about it, Clarke told the mother to wait for help, and they’d get him a real cast at the hospital when help arrives.

“Clarke!” Lexa called from beside Anya, she was standing, facing two sweaty soccer players.

Clarke limped over, trying to avoid putting too much pressure on her ankle, the sand was not going to do much for her injury. “What’s wrong?”

“They saw fire a couple of miles down the shore.”

“I think it’s the other half of the plane.” One of the girls huffed. “There may be survivors.”

“I can’t possibly walk several miles.” Clarke sighed. “My ankle is swollen enough as it is.”

“Monroe kept going. She should be getting to the wreckage by now. She’s a nurse. She’ll probably be able to help them there. If there’s anyone left.” The other girl reported, looking to the two self-appointed leaders.

“Let’s focus on the people here for now. We’ve got two dozen survivors.” Lexa glanced at Clarke. “You’ve taken care of the most critical?”

Clarke nodded. “Most of them have gashes and broken or dislocated bones. But I’m worried about dehydration. If like you said help is a few hours off…”

“She’s right, Heda, I need some water.” One of the girls muttered to Lexa.

Lexa nodded, patting her shoulder. “Go sit down in the shade. We’ll take care of the water. When we get home I’ll go easy on you two.” Lexa smirked a little. “Have the rest of the team run a couple of miles on sand midday, just to make it even.”

The girls let out dry chuckles and limped over, stopping to check up on Anya before fully immersing themselves in the shade. “If you get too hot take a swim!” Clarke called after them.

They waved her off and Lexa started towards the fuselage. “Maybe there’s some water bottles from the flight attendant station.”

Clarke hobbled after her as quickly as possible. The bodies had already started to smell, but Clarke supposed that was to be expected when they’re practically being cooked in a giant metal oven. “Help needs to get here soon.” Clarke grumbled as she stepped over someone’s broken leg.

A thud and the sound of cracking plastic startled Clarke from her thoughts, Lexa had broken open a cabinet with her heel. “Here we go.”

“Water?”

“Plenty of it. A pack and a half of two dozen. There’ll be enough for everyone to have a bottle while we wait for help.”

“Good.” Clarke went to Lexa’s side, taking the partial package. Lexa took the other one, swinging it over one shoulder and stepping around the blonde. “Any extras need to be saved. If anyone starts showing symptoms of heatstroke we’ll need the extra water.”

The Survivors lined up for the water rather patiently. Clarke supposed having Lexa as a leader helped. She’s intimidating enough to keep people in line, but she at least took care of them. However, the patience and the peace didn’t last long.

Clarke wasn’t sure who started the fight, or why, but she did see the broken nose on the young man as he stumbled away. “Fucking asshole!” He snarled at the other man.

“Shut the fuck up, Murphy!” The guy screamed, he looked a wreck, but he was scrawny, scrawnier than Murphy. He stepped forward again to land another blow before Octavia’s brother, Bellamy, stepped forward.

“That’s enough.” He stopped the scrawny boy with a firm hand on his wrist. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and flicked it open to reveal a badge. “Federal Air Marshal Bellamy Blake, and that’s enough.”

Murphy scrambled to his feet. “Great, now arrest that fucking psycho before he kills someone.”

“You shut up.” He bellowed. “You,” He turned back to the kid he had yet to let go of. “Are gonna go sit over there in the shade and wait for help to arrive.”

“I’m pressing charges!” Murphy snarled before Bellamy turned on him.

“You are going to sit over there away from him until help arrives.”

“Putting us in time out?” Murphy mocked before grabbing his water bottle and squaring up again.

“If that’s what keeps you two from killing each other that’s what I’ll do.” Bellamy crossed his arms, muscles bulging through the fabric of his shirt. He pulled a much more intimidating profile than Clarke could ever hope to pull, and it certainly helped that his t-shirt rode up just enough to reveal his gun holster.

Murphy, eyeing the gun, slinked off. Clarke had to admit, she was glad neither she nor Lexa had to get involved. Quickly, the remaining survivors reorganized themselves to grab their water and spread back out to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is everything I have written so far! I should let everyone know now I know absolutely nothing about medical practices. Correct me if anything is terribly wrong!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this up two days ago but I'm a disappointment

After several hours stewing in the sun, Clarke was getting antsy. She walked around aimlessly, helping whoever needed it, but as time passed, and the survivors settled, fewer and fewer people bothered her. It was only Anya who really needed any sort of immediate medical attention.

She made rounds to change bandages every hour or so, but she spent the majority of her time sitting by Anya, trying to figure out her next course of action. The shrapnel needed to be removed, but she didn’t want to be the one to do it. They needed to have a professional surgeon take care of her, but if it took hours to _get_ here, then it would take hours to get back, the helicopter ride back could kill her.

Clarke was staring at the shrapnel intensely when she felt a presence settle itself in the sand next to her. A quick glance confirmed the person to be Lexa, cross-legged and staring blankly at the unconscious girl before them. “It looks bad.” She murmured.

Clarke shrugged one shoulder, the sun was beginning to set and it cast a golden light across Lexa’s face, but Clarke ignored the glowing from her side to look back at her patient. “It does. I’ve seen a lot of injuries like this, but I’m not really qualified to remove the shrapnel. A surgeon would do that in the emergency room once she reaches the hospital.”

“Which, even if the ‘copters got here right now, it would take hours to reach.” Lexa sighed. “I’m worried about her.” Her voice was dull, but her eyes shined with unshed tears. Clearly, Lexa was trying not to show just how much she cared.

“It’s okay to be worried.” Clarke offered awkwardly. She’d never been one for comforting family members of the people she took care of, but she felt obligated to at least try to help. The girl had already done so much to help them, keeping everyone calm, giving out orders, sacrificing her own emotions for the good of the others around her. Clarke wondered for a moment if the girl had a habit of abnegation in her everyday life.

Lexa grunted an acknowledgment before falling silent again. “Help should be here by now.”

Clarke raised an eyebrow. “Really now? You said so yourself it could take a while for help to get here.” Lexa shrugged, wincing a bit. “You hurt?”

Lexa shook her head, sending a half-assed glare towards Clarke. “Just sore. I was just thinking about something Tris said. She said that we’d crashed only an hour or so away from the first couple of islands, I figured if we’re a couple hours from the main lands it might be a couple of hours for help to arrive. Except, it’s been a couple of hours and nothing.”

“How does Tris know where we were when we crashed?”

“She doesn’t like flying, so she was hyperaware of the time and how long the flight was supposed to be. I figured her estimates would be relatively accurate, if not slightly off.” Lexa was quiet, and Clarke could tell her mind was in a dark place, then again so was Clarke, as thoughts of her mother started to come forward in her mind.

“So what does that mean?”

Lexa shrugged, turning to Clarke. “I have no clue. It could mean a lot of things.”

Clarke huffed in frustration. “So what do we do?”                                       

Lexa sent a wry smile her way. “I was going to ask you the same.”

Clarke leaned back on her palms, turning her face up towards the reddening sky. “We should probably find a way to keep warm. Shelter and all that. The fuselage is filled with bodies, and the authorities wouldn’t appreciate it if we moved them all anyway. Besides, I don’t think any of the others would be okay with moving their friends and loved ones, even if they weren’t already exhausted.”

Lexa nodded. “You’re right. I’ll get everyone to start setting up lean-tos.”

“I don’t know how to start a fire though, we might want a fire to keep warm.”

Lexa smirked slightly as she stood up. “Don’t worry, I used to go camping a lot with my father. I’ll get everything put together.” Lexa turned away towards the spread out group of survivors, calling their attention. “We should set up shelter to wait out the night! Girls, go collect some dry foliage and grass and such from the trees, we can build a fire to keep warm, if the rest of you can-“

“I thought you said help was coming!” The man Bellamy had separated from Murphy snarled angrily.

Clarke could see Lexa’s jaw tense from several feet away. “It will, but it looks like it could be nightfall before that happens, it’s going to get cold-“

“What if we miss help while we’re asleep-“

“Do you even know anything about what’s going on-“

Clarke scrambled up to stand at Lexa’s side amidst the uproar coming from the other survivors. Lexa’s teammates stood up and did as was asked of them silently, their captain would take care of them in the absence of their coach. “Everybody, quiet down.” Clarke demanded. Slowly the yelling died down to angry murmurs, a buzzing among the crowd. “Listen, Lexa’s right, dusk is coming and it’s going to get cold. With all of us injured and in shock, we need to keep warm and take care of ourselves while we wait for help. It could be a couple of hours until that happens. So for now, let’s do as she says and get to work. The authorities will know where to find us.”

Bellamy pushed his way to the front. “She’s right. Help is on its way. Every aircraft is fit with certain equipment to help track it in the case of emergencies. The pilot got into touch with the nearest control tower and spoke with an operator there. They’ll know we went down and the general area. Besides, the flight data recorder will send a beaconing signal to search crafts looking for us for up to a month. That thing works even in the depths of the ocean. They’re probably just too far away to reach us right now. They’ll be here by tomorrow at the latest.”

Both girls glared at him, they had everything under control, but Clarke supposed having a Federal Air Marshal on their side should help their case. There was still significant grumbling, but as soon as Bellamy finished his speech, the able-bodied survivors shuffled off to find metal panels or large pieces of driftwood to lean against trees for shelter.

Clarke took watch over Anya as Tris and Lexa knelt over the pile of kindling Lexa’s teammates had built, and in seconds they had a fire roaring to life, large enough to catch attention from the ground. Lexa leaned her head over to Tris after a moment, muttering something Clarke couldn’t hear, and the girl nodded rapidly before jumping up and rushing off.

It had been only fifteen minutes and Lexa had set up a giant bonfire in the center of the crowd of lean-tos and had Tris set up various smaller blazes scattered about the area. “Keeps away the mosquitos,” She explained as she dug a hole near Anya’s body to hold a torch.

“You seem oddly prepared to camp out on a beach all night after a plane crash.” Clarke quipped as Lexa lowered herself to the ground by Anya’s head, playing with her hair.

A small smirk played at the corners of her mouth. “I told you, my dad had Anya, Tris, and I camping all the time. We practically grew up outside in the forest.”

“Anya and Tris grew up with you?”

“They’re my cousins.” Lexa murmured softly, tugging slightly at the braid she had woven in Anya’s hair. “I followed Anya around like a lost puppy, and Tris was the baby of the family, I helped her corrupt the kid.”

“You were always more trouble than she was.” There was a rasp from the girl between them. Anya hadn’t opened her eyes, but her eyebrows creased together and her lips pulled into a frown.

Lexa looked down, something akin to affection clouding her eyes before she quickly arranged a scowl on her face. “Turned out better than you.”

Anya coughed, or it could have been a chuckle, Clarke couldn’t tell. “Keep telling yourself that, goufa.”

Clarke made eye contact with Lexa, she tilted her head, questioning Lexa without a word. Lexa rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. “Anya, tell me how you’re feeling yeah?” Clarke scooted closer to check her pulse and feel her forehead for a possible fever. Despite the dropping temperature Anya was sweating.

“You gonna take this shit out or not?” Anya grunted, more hostile than Clarke would ever expect someone who has _literally been impaled_ to be.

“Depends on if you’ll ever answer my questions directly.” Clarke grumbled, seemingly satisfied with her pulse and backing away from Anya.

Anya rolled her eyes and shifted, grunting in pain before immediately stopping all movement. “Hurts like hell.”

“I can imagine.” Clarke deadpanned. “Lexa, mind grabbing Anya some water? Do you have a headache? Do you feel like your lungs are filled with fluid? Are you having trouble breathing?”

Anya huffed, but then groaned at the movement it caused her chest. “I don’t have trouble breathing, nothing in my lungs. You’re the cause of my headache.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and left to follow Lexa towards the stash of water. “She’s a pain in the ass.” Clarke huffed as Lexa looked up at her.

“Before you ask, that’s not even because of the injury, she’s like this all the time.” Lexa smirked.

“She’s a real ray of sunshine.”

Lexa chuckled slightly, a huff of a laugh that Clarke could have easily missed had she not been paying attention. “That she is.”

Clarke sat back down at Anya’s side as Lexa carefully helped Anya sip at the water. “I can’t take the shrapnel out here. I’m not a surgeon, and it could easily pierce your lungs or rupture an artery. We have to wait for help to get here. It’s a good sign that you’ve gone this long and that you’re awake right now. We have to keep as much blood in your body as possible right now and removing the shrapnel will just make you bleed out.”

Lexa looked up at Clarke, nodding her understanding. Anya, however was not so understanding, she glared daggers at Clarke. “How long have we been on this beach?”

“Several hours. Tris said it was about noon when we went down, it’s dusk now.” Lexa murmured, trying to force Anya to sip more water.

“I know that, branwada, if you put your hand near my face one more time I will bite it off.” She growled.

Lexa met her glare with an equally intense glare and Clarke was afraid the two might actually duke it out here. One with a sore arm and an open water bottle and the other a giant shard of metal sticking from her chest. Though she wouldn’t be surprised if Anya tried.

“You need water-“

“I need you to go away.” Anya snapped. Lexa rolled her eyes and made no move to leave. “Where’s Tris?”

“She’s just finishing the last little blaze over there by Jasper.” Lexa gestured vaguely towards the general direction of the stringy man that had hit Murphy.

“I don’t care about that, tell her to get over here and hold me down while Blondie over here pulls this shit out of my chest.”

“I’m not taking the shrapnel from your chest!” Clarke groaned. “You’ll bleed out.”

“Then cauterize it dumbass!”

Clarke blinked. “It could get infected without proper antibiotics-“

“Which I’ll get at the hospital later, just get it out of my chest so I can go on with my life.”

“Lexa-“

“Clarke-” Lexa interrupted her complaints, as exasperated as Clarke.

“I am _not_ going to-“

“Help is a long ways off-“

“No!”

“For fuck’s sake!” Anya growled, moving her left arm to try and grip the shrapnel.

Lexa lunged, slamming her wrist back to the sand. “You’ll get yourself killed.”

Clarke gaped at the two. “How have you two _survived_ this long? I’m not a surgeon. I’m not _qualified_ to operate. And like hell am I going to let my first surgical procedure happen on a fucking _beach_ after _a plane crash_.”

Anya’s glare most likely would have been more intimidating had she been in full health, but for now, Clarke figured she was safe from any physical retribution. “What are my chances of surviving?”

“Not very-“

“Are they zero?”

“Well, no there’s a chance-“

“Pull it out. Lexa, go get Tris and put some shrapnel or something on the fire and get it hot enough to cauterize the wound.” Anya demanded.

Lexa leveled an exasperated glare at Clarke. “She’s not going to shut up about it.”

“I don’t want to _kill_ her!” Clarke hissed.

Lexa sighed. “Tris! Come here!”

A few minutes later and Tris and Lexa are holding Anya down by the shoulders, a sock in her mouth to bite down on. “Look I don’t have anything to clean the wound-“ Tris tossed a bottle of alcohol at her feet with a smirk.

“Found that in Gus’s luggage.”

“No way,” Lexa gaped at the bottle, turning to her younger cousin. “We drove him to drink?”

“All you, Heda.” Tris smirked, bumping Lexa’s shoulder, before turning to Clarke. “You out of excuses yet?”

“This is incredibly _stupid_.”

“That’s nice, let’s get it over with then.”

Anya steeled herself before nodding towards Clarke. Clarke couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. A few quick motions and she had soaked her hands in the alcohol and poured a little around the edges of the wound. Anya grunted and twitched a bit, but her cousins did well to hold her down.

Clarke took a deep breath. She’d have to draw this out, move slowly and hope that Anya doesn’t move too much and hurt herself. She had no idea how much leeway she had with this wound, if she was off by more than a millimeter or two she could kill this girl in front of her.

“This is unbelievably stupid.” She grumbled as she positioned herself over Anya.

Another deep breath and she wrapped her fingers around the shrapnel, near the base where it stuck from her chest. Anya grunted again, muscles tensing, but Lexa and Tris held fast. Another huff and Clarke started to move, pulling the metal, millimeter by millimeter out of the soft flesh beneath her fingers.

Anya was screaming, muffled by the sock, and frankly Clarke didn’t blame her. She wasn’t the one impaled by a hunk of metal and Clarke was feeling the need to scream herself. Every millimeter Clarke expected the screaming to be cut off, turned into a bubbly gurgle, a wet cough and a bloody sock. Anya’s chest was heaving and Clarke had to stop several times to keep from twitching.

Clarke almost hoped that the pain would be too much for Anya and that she’d pass out. At least with an unconscious patient she’d be able to work without the distraction of screaming. But Anya powered through.

A few more centimeters and Anya was in the clear, she could pull the shrapnel out without worrying about killing the girl in seconds. “It’s out,” Clarke told the girls unnecessarily. “Get the cauterizing stick, whatever you decided to use.” Tris scrambled to her feet as Clarke gestured for Lexa to place her hands over the shitty bandages they had created out of abandoned t-shirts. “Hold that, I have to disinfect it again.”

Clarke grabbed the bottle and sloshed the liquid across the gaping wound, gushing blood, in Anya’s chest. Anya let out another, shorter scream at the stinging, but quickly quieted down, back to hyperventilating.

Tris returned with a straight shard of metal, white hot from the fire and Clarke took it from her with a deep breath. Lexa nodded to her and moved quickly, allowing for Clarke to send it into the wound, gagging at the hissing of boiling blood and charring flesh.

Once she was sure the wound had been closed up as best it could be, she removed the poker and tossed it to the side, ignoring the sizzling of the cooling sand against the metal. She sat back on her heels, staring up at the sky, afraid to look down and see the lifeless eyes of her first and hopefully last surgical patient.

“ _Fuck_ ,” She heard a hoarse voice groan from below her.

Clarke nearly gave herself whiplash looking down to see an even grumpier Anya breathing and wincing at every movement. “Alright, that’s it, no more. I am not operating on _anybody else_. Setting broken bones? Relocating joints? Cuts and gashes? Sure, but _I am not a surgeon_.” She glared at Lexa, sitting back, leaning on her hands behind her.

Lexa tipped her chin and smiled, a genuine smile. “I think you might have a natural talent for it, Clarke.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and scooted away from the three impossible people before her, only to see the majority of camp staring at them in fear and terror. “What the hell was that?” Bellamy piped up from across the way.

“My first and last surgery.”

Bellamy stared at her in shock. “I don’t-“ He stopped abruptly.

Clarke shrugged. “Me neither.”

The survivors crowded around the massive bonfire for the rest of the night, talking quietly, telling each other about who they are, the people waiting for them back home, their plans to tell their loved ones how much they mean to them as soon as they got off the beach. Clarke learned some of their names, she learned that the little boy with a broken arm was named Aden and just by looking at the way he talked to Lexa she could tell that he thought she was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. Clarke found it endearing, but she could tell Lexa had no idea why this twelve year old kid kept trying to get her attention.

She learned that Jasper was still on edge after losing his girlfriend on the plane. Her death had apparently not been immediate.

Bellamy and Octavia planned on catching a connecting flight to visit family in the Philippines. And the two bickered more than normal siblings.

Lexa was the captain of the soccer team, the Groundhogs, or as the girls called themselves, the Grounders, and she played midfield with her cousins. They were on their way to playing a friendly against an obscure Japanese local team when the plane downed and Lexa naturally took charge.

A meek kid next to Jasper revealed himself to be a video game designer named Monty, hoping to get himself a job with one of the big companies in Japan or South Korea, Clarke couldn’t remember which, but Jasper had taken a liking to him and distracted himself with mindless babble about video games.

The socialization definitely helped morale, Clarke noticed, as they got used to each other she noticed more laughter and joking and less grumbling about their likely deaths at the hands of exposure, starvation, dehydration, or simple abandonment.

Eventually, as the moon climbed the sky, the group grunted and groaned against their sore muscles and found warm spots to sleep for the night, the exhaustion of the day settling deep in their bones.


	4. Chapter 4

Raven Reyes was no stranger to pain.

Emotional pain? She had that in droves. Her mother was an asshole, to put it mildly, and her old high school sweetheart was not so sweet. She didn’t have many friends that didn’t also work with her and frankly, her life kind of sucked.

Physical pain? Yeah, Raven wasn’t unfamiliar with that either.

But _this_? _This_ wasn’t pain. _This_ was _agony_.

“Raven?” The voice was familiar. Soft, caring, drowned out by the pain. “Raven?”

“Mom?” It slipped from her mouth before she really could place the voice.

“Raven, honey I need you to wake up now.”

Raven groaned and peeled her eyes open, the bright fluorescent lights burning her retinas. Finally, Abby Griffin blinked into her field of vision, a strange combination of relief and underlying worry written across her face. “Abby?”

“Hey, welcome back.” She smiled, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Where-“

“I don’t know.” Abby whispered. “I was pulling you from the wreckage when these people showed up. They sedated us with darts. I convinced them to let me remove the shrapnel from your back after I woke up.”

“I had shrapnel in my back?” Raven yelped.

“A small piece, yes. It’s out now. But I need to check if there’s any nerve damage.” Abby explained softly. “I need you to tell me if you feel anything.”

Raven felt a small tickling at the bottom of her right foot. “Yes,”

“Okay, I’m going to move to your left now.”

Raven couldn’t see Abby, but the longer it took for the woman to touch her, the worse she felt. A ball of anxiety set itself at the pit of her stomach until she felt the tickling at her kneecap. “I feel it.” She whispered.

Abby sighed. “Raven,” She paused to let Raven collect herself. “I’m sorry to say you have nerve damage to your lower left leg.”

Raven couldn’t hold back the sob building in her throat. She couldn’t imagine not having use in her left leg. She had always been an active person, always playing sports and running around and, in general, _doing_ things.

Abby kept her distance, she had no idea how Raven would react to any attempts to comfort her. Since Clarke brought Raven over one day shortly after the Finn debacle, Abby had come to consider her a second daughter, it tore her apart to see her in this sort of pain.

Finally, after a few minutes, she built up the courage to approach her, set herself on the edge of the bed, and stroke her hair. “I’m sorry.”

Raven cursed herself, over and over, what was she doing? Crying over something like this, she was being weak. She needed to grow the fuck up and quit her whining. She gasped for air and shrugged Abby’s hands off of her, grunting and forcing herself into a sitting position, ignoring Abby’s protests.

“Raven, I don’t want you to exacerbate you wounds, stop!”

“Get off, Abby.” Raven hissed. It was agonizing, to say the least, but eventually she was supporting herself. She took her chance to look around the room. It was barren, but not hospital-sterile, it had the awkwardly empty look of a room hastily cleared out. Raven recognized the bed she sat on was simply a longer metal table improvised as a cot, with a few coarse blankets thrown over it. “Tell me what’s-“

“Ah, you’re awake!” A voice sounded from the opposite side of the room. Raven whipped around to see a tall, pale man with wispy white hair stride confidently into the room, the heavy door closing behind him. He smiled broadly, a strangely white smile stretching across his face. He had kind blue eyes that seemed to take in the two women before him like a dehydrated child sucking down the first water he’s seen in days. “I was concerned for you. You have quite a talented surgeon taking care of you I must say.” He nodded amicably towards Abby. “My name is Dante Wallace, you could say I’m in charge here. After all, I do own the island.”

“Island?” Raven looked to Abby for answers.

“The plane went down.” Abby explained with nothing more than a cursory glance towards Raven. “Why did you sedate us?”

Dante’s friendly smile faded, replaced with an uncomfortably strained smile. “You see, Doctor Griffin, I own this island, and I’m not fond of trespassers.”

“Our plane _crashed_.” Raven couldn’t _believe_ this man.

“Which is why we’ve allowed you to live.” Dante stepped forward, gaining some of his self-confidence back. “See, I’ve got myself a good little setup here, and unfortunately, our plans didn’t exactly pan out quite the way we wanted them to. I understand you and your other little group down at the south beach are simply caught in the crossfire-“

“Other group?” Abby interrupted, hope daring to enter her eyes.

Dante stopped, tilting his head. Raven got the image of an owl, his blue eyes knew too much, more than they would ever understand, and he was sizing them up, deciding just how much they needed to know. “Your plane split in half, your half landed very close to our facilities, the south beach however, is much more difficult for us to reach. That group is still there from what my scouts have told me.”

“Clarke!” Abby blurted. “Is Clarke there, blonde girl, blue eyes-“

“EMT?” Dante smirked. “Yes, from what I’ve heard she’s also got a knack for surgery.”

Abby fell to the cot next to Raven, relief washing over every ounce of her being. Raven certainly understood the feeling. She was glad Clarke was alive herself. “Knack for surgery?”

Dante shrugged. “She removed shrapnel from a girl’s chest. Cauterized the wound. The girl is still alive now. As I was saying, we won’t be able to secure this group immediately-“

“Okay, hold on.” Raven snapped. “’We’? Who the hell are you? Stop speaking in fucking riddles. Why are you holding us captive? When is help going to arrive for the others?”

Dante sighed. “It wasn’t my intention to reveal everything to you. But I suppose, after everything you’ve gone through, you deserve to know the truth.”

Dante stepped further into the room, drawing the chair from the corner and taking a seat, crossing his foot over his knee and knitting his fingers together over his raised calf. “You see, I’m one of the many members of the global organization known as the Allied League for Intelligent Equanimity, or as you’ve heard of us, A.L.I.E.” Dante paused for them to take in this newest information.

Abby gripped Raven’s forearm firmly, she couldn’t tell if it was a grounding technique or protective. “You’re a terrorist.” She gasped from Raven’s side.

“Now, that’s not true at all. I align closer to a pacifist, actually.” Dante clucked his tongue, a sad little headshake at her accusations. “Our goal is worldwide peace. How could that possibly spawn terrorists?”

“Easily, when you take it as far as you do.” Raven spat.

Dante sighed. “This is the exact reason I didn’t want to reveal all of this. But I suppose I should continue.”

Raven narrowed her eyes. “Go on.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Raven, I never did catch your full name, your mother- er friend? She was too concerned to answer our questions directly.”

Raven felt her cheeks heat up, and she suspected Abby might look similarly embarrassed. “Raven Reyes,”

“Well, Ms. Reyes, Doctor Griffin, I was wondering if the two of you might want to visit my favorite room in our facilities.” It was phrased as an invitation, but his tone, his body language suggested they had no choice.

“I can’t walk.” Raven whispered, pushing back the tears threatening to reappear.

“That’s alright, we’ll get you a wheelchair.” Dante Wallace moved to his feet, pulling a cheap disposable phone from his pocket and pressing speed dial. “Cage, bring down a wheelchair for the injured girl, Raven Reyes, she’s awake and fine, barring the nerve damage to her leg.”

Dante smiled down at them as they waited for her chair to arrive, Raven could feel the shame move down the back of her neck and course through her veins. She’d slow Abby down when they escaped.

Yes, they’d need to escape. They had been captured by _fucking terrorists_.

Eventually, there was a knock on the door and Dante let in a younger man, just as pale, with a scar on his upper lip, the aftermath of a cleft lip that had been fixed as best as could be, and greasy looking brown hair that had been swept to the side in a semi-professional wave over his forehead. He pushed a wheelchair forward and grimaced at the two. “Doctor Griffin, Ms. Reyes, I’d like you to meet my son Cage.”

Cage bowed his head slightly, stretching a snide smirk further across his face. “Ladies, Dad, I’ll have to catch up with you three later, I’m afraid the other survivors need me.”

“There are others?” Raven leaned forward.

“Yes, we found eight others around you. All of those eight are alive and four of them are perfectly fine, besides some minor cuts and bruises. The others are currently unconscious and being treated by our doctors and nurses.” Dante explained cordially as he wheeled the chair towards Raven.

Cage slipped away as Dante made to help Raven from the bed to the chair, but Raven jerked away and closer to Abby. Dante took the hint, allowing Abby to be the one to help Raven into the wheelchair.

Raven didn’t really want any help, but if she _had_ to accept help, she’d rather it be from someone she trusted. Abby saved her life. Abby could be trusted. Abby treated her like her own daughter. Abby cared.

Once Raven was situated, she couldn’t help but stare at the traitorous leg that wouldn’t move at her will. She tried and tried to wiggle her left big toe, but nothing. No movement. Her eyes threatened to fill with tears again and she swallowed back another sob.

Abby took her place at the helm of the wheelchair, and Dante swept them through the door and into a dark hallway, lit sparingly every few yards by weak fluorescent lights. “Unfortunately we haven’t perfected our solar power panels, so our energy use has to be at its minimum.” Dante explained.

They passed several doors, but Dante nodded towards two of them towards the end of the hall. “Your fellow survivors are in there, being briefed by Cage. He’ll explain everything that I am explaining to you two. Though the pilot and surviving copilot will be separated from the others, I’m sure you can understand why, the government has classified A.L.I.E. as a dangerous organization, so you can assume we take our security very seriously.”

The end of the hall opened up into an elevator that Dante opened and gestured for them to enter. “To the top.”

“Top?” Raven asked. “Aren’t you concerned that the government might find you?”

“Oh the government knows exactly where we are.” Dante waved her off. “Some of them are in our pocket, and besides, it’s not like they have any evidence that I’m affiliated with A.L.I.E., they’d need a search warrant to even land on my island. Without proof, they can’t get a warrant. Restricted by their own laws, foolish.”

“It’s also the point.” Abby’s voice was cold as ice, even Raven felt intimidated by the voice behind her. Then again, it’s not surprising, her daughter was in danger. Raven would never want to step between a mother and her endangered child, she liked breathing. “To restrict government and protect the rights of citizens.”

“But see, it’s been made clear that the people are incapable of avoiding conflict. Perhaps it should be left to a higher power.” Dante argued. “But I’ll wait until after I’ve shown you everything.”

Finally the elevator doors open to a great open room. The walls and ceiling were all made of glass, allowing the sunlight to pour in at every angle. Raven could guess based off the sun’s position that it was early afternoon by now. Her eyes were burning at the sudden brightness of natural light, but she couldn’t help feeling slightly uplifted at sight of daylight.

But around the room, white rectangular columns stood, and on each side, a painting, some held more than one, but all of them seemed to be beautiful landscapes. Raven was pushed further into the bright atrium as Dante drifted towards some of the paintings towards the center of the room. “See, this, this is what I live for.” He smiles at a painting, fingertips floating just centimeters from the oil decorating the canvas. “All of these are _masterpieces_. Monet, Van Gogh, brilliant artists, not all of them are famous or worth billions of dollars, but all of them demonstrate exactly what A.L.I.E. stands for. _Peace_.”

He paused to let the two women take in his words. They drifted about the room in awe. “So this is where all those pieces ended up. _You’ve_ been behind all the stolen art recently?” Abby sounded out of breath, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Personally, Raven hadn’t heard of the missing art pieces. She supposed that wouldn’t surprise anybody, she knew about all of the pitfalls and advantages to every car on the market since 1960 and a number of muscle cars from even before then. She knew about cellphones and rockets and anything with nuts and bolts. But art? That was more Clarke’s speed.

Dante gestured to a beautiful painting that looked vaguely familiar to Raven. “This, my pride and joy, is-“

“Monet,” Abby hissed. “You weren’t lying, you stole Monet’s Bridge over a Pond of Lilies.”

Right, that’s what it was. “Ah, an art aficionado Doctor Griffin?” Dante smiled at her, ignoring her deploring tone, taking pride of his accomplishments. “Yes, Monet and his famous Lilies. A beautiful piece. He’d paint the same bridge at different times of the year and different times of the day to capture just the perfect tone to describe his feelings towards those water lilies. Brilliant. Look at it, this bridge, hidden in the colors of nature, taking nothing from the beauty, but _adding_ to the peace. _Bringing together_ two shores to complete one picture of tranquility and joy. I think Monet and I would have gotten along quite famously. I’ve always enjoyed nature, and Monet and his landscapes are the best of the best.” Dante laughed. “But this is the importance of A.L.I.E.’s goal. You see, today’s artists, they’re nothing like the impressionists of days gone by. They’ve lost touch with their deepest souls. Too busy fighting and killing over the dregs of oil at the bottom of the barrel. And the _art_ , it’s dreadful! Soup cans? How downright uncreative, no imagination, no soul. A.L.I.E. is about bringing the humanness back to humanity, by taking away the thing that warps and destroys our hearts. Conflict.”

“A.L.I.E. is killing people, right now, with all of those government secrets you leaked-“

“Now, Doctor Griffin, that wasn’t me. That was another branch, I only know her as Beca, but we can all assume that’s not her real name. She exposed the dark secrets the government holds, things the people deserve to know. How can we possibly be a good, peaceful nation if we’re doing things like spying on our allies, torturing suspects, and supplying the allies of our enemies with weapons? Whose side is the government really on? Not ours, I can tell you.”

“She exposed secrets our enemies can use against us, exposed military information, she’s the reason thousands of our soldiers are dying in the Middle East!” Abby snapped, she’d lost patients to the wars over seas. People flown to her for surgery, surviving against all odds just to take their own lives months later after the horrors they witnessed on the battlefield followed them home. Raven knew that she took every loss personally, she supposed it’d be hard not to. When someone’s life is in your hands and you fail… she could imagine it hurt.

“She’s hardly the reason those soldiers are fighting a war that could be avoided. They were dying before she exposed anything, but now, we know about them. They’re no longer disappearing mysteriously, now they’re being honored, like they should have been before. But when A.L.I.E. succeeds, we won’t have a need for soldiers or martyrs. There’ll be no wars to fight, no battlefields to clean, no rubble to sift through, no bombs, no gunfire, and no victims. A.L.I.E. is the path to a better future!” Dante gestured widely to the bright room full of masterpieces. “A.L.I.E. _is_ our future!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, was not expecting to have this one ready tonight but... surprise! Anyway, here we're getting to the plot of things, hopefully we're starting to diverge from those "Lost" vibes yall have been feeling. I haven't seen the show so I have no idea if I am or not lol. I've added a new POV, but I think I'll keep it with just the two right now. I've got a plan for this to stretch into a series of maybe two or three fics, but we'll see if I should continue with those when we get further into the plot of this one. As always, thanks so much for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

It took several minutes for Clarke to adjust to the pandemonium around her. She was too busy opening her sand encrusted eyes and struggling to avoid visibly cringing as her teeth crunched down on stray granules of salt and sand in her mouth. But after running through the events of the previous day, she finally found herself capable of comprehending what was happening.

Four people were rolling in the sand, throwing punches and bleeding into the sand, others were standing about shouting. Ranging from yelling to stop the fighting, panicking about the lack of helicopters, or simply challenging the authority Lexa had claimed the moment she took charge during the crash yesterday, the entire group of survivors were quickly descending into mania.

Lexa stood silently, arms crossed, eyes glaring at the building mob before her, without a hint of fear or anger. Clarke thought she had to be made of stone to look back at the group without letting any emotion show. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet and weaved her way through the chaos towards Lexa, if anyone were qualified to be in charge, she supposed it’d be the person who was able to keep a level head during panic situations.

“Lexa, what the hell is going on?” Clarke hissed as she stepped into her personal space, pushing back an angry man she didn’t entirely remember.

“Panic,” Lexa answered levelly. “I’m evidently an unqualified leader, a liar, and hellbent on keeping power rather than helping.”

Clarke knit her eyebrows together. “What happened?”

“Bellamy wants to lead a group to search for help. Monroe returned with information, there’s a cliff face to our west, impossible to pass without going through the forest. The rest of the plane is on the other side. She couldn’t get to the wreckage. Murphy and Jasper are fighting for some reason, and that brought Monty and Miller into it.”

“Okay, but why are they angry with you?”

“I’m not a Fed.” Lexa shrugged, looking away from the angry group before her. “We shouldn’t split up. It’ll make it all the more difficult for help to find all of us if we’re separated, and even worse if we’re away from the wreckage, the thing they’re looking for. But we’re going to run out of water today. We don’t have enough for everybody, which is something we have to fix _today_.”

“Maybe there’s a river in the forest-“

“Out of the question.” Lexa cut her off.

When she didn’t offer a reason, Clarke rolled her eyes. “And why is that?”

Lexa sighed. “We don’t know how thick the forest gets. It can get nearly impossible to navigate, especially for inexperienced hikers, we run the risk of getting ourselves lost and killed.”

Clarke opened her mouth to protest when the sounds of gunshots cut her off, Lexa dragged her to the ground as they both looked to the source. Bellamy stood, a gun in hand pointed to the sky just over the forest. Flocks of birds took to the air and silence fell over the group. “That is enough. Monty, Miller, Jasper, get up. Murphy, clean yourself off, you’re a mess.”

Murphy could barely get himself to his feet on his own. Clarke dared to step forward and offer her help, but Murphy shrugged her off, pushing past Aden and his mother to stand in the shade away from everyone else. Mopping at his swollen and bloody face with his t-shirt.

Bellamy looked to the group surrounding Lexa. “Back off from her. No more fighting. We’re going to discuss this civilly, understand?”

Lexa glared holes into Bellamy, but Clarke was relieved when the group backed away, making a semicircle around him and his gun. Bellamy finally lowered his gun and tucked it away. “Now, help hasn’t come yet, so I’ll be leading a group to go search for-“

“Where are you going to look, Blake?” Anya coughed from her spot in the sand, just far enough away from them to be safe from the fights. “Lexa is right.”

“I said enough!” Bellamy boomed, his voice echoing into the forest behind them, but lost to the wind and the waves of the water.

Anya practically growled from her spot in the sand but Lexa stepped forward. “You said we’ll discuss this civilly.” She quipped. “If we leave, how is help supposed to find us?”

“Only a few would leave-“

“And they should find those of you who’ve left… how?” She countered.

“Look, it’s been nearly twenty four hours, they should be here by now. They’re not going to come while we’re gone.” Bellamy growled at the younger girl.

Clarke watched as Lexa’s jaw tensed. She imagined she could hear the grinding of her teeth, but then the uproar began again.

“What do you mean help isn’t coming?”

“How are we supposed to survive out here without help?”

“There has to be a way to get off this damn beach!”

Lexa rolled her eyes. “Du ste branwada.” She muttered under her breath. “Joka na frag oso op.” Clarke gave her a strange look, and Lexa shook her head in answer. “Never mind. That is enough!” Lexa snapped at the panicking survivors. Quiet fell once more as they looked to the three leaders.

“Help has to be on its way.” Clarke reasoned to the group. “Planes don’t just crash without anyone noticing.”

That seemed to calm the crowd for a moment, and Lexa took the opportunity to step forward. “If we leave the site, help, when it comes, won’t be able to find us. We’re sore, injured, and hungry, we are in no shape to be hiking along the shore, or through the forest, or doing anything but sitting and waiting.” She reasoned.

“We’re going to run out of water today.” Bellamy argued. “Those of us in better shape should at the very least go through the forest looking for fresh water.”

Clarke stepped in, Lexa’s glare told her that anything she had to say to Bellamy wouldn’t be friendly. “Bellamy, that’s really dangerous. We could get lost in the forest, and we don’t know if there are poisonous creatures or plants or anything, I can’t treat that here without medication.”

“We can’t sit on this beach and _ensure_ our deaths just because there _might_ be poison ivy.” Bellamy snapped.

Clarke opened her mouth to argue before Lexa cut in. “We compromise. I lead the search group. I have more experience in hiking and survival training, I know what to look for. I take a _small_ group. No more than six or seven to go searching for water, we won’t go far. No one eats anything unless we know for absolute certainty what it is. Those are the rules. Everyone else stays here. We’ll be back by midafternoon. Understood?” Lexa was sharp, demanding, and she refused to back down. After a small standoff with Bellamy, he gave a small nod and stepped back.

“I can help build a water tank, maybe even a filtering system.” Monty stepped forward, giving Clarke and Lexa a shy half smile.

Clarke smiled in return. “That’d be wonderful. We need volunteers for the search, people who are able to walk long distances?” She called to the group watching the three argue.

Several of Lexa’s teammates stepped forward, nodding towards their captain. Lexa nodded back, a couple of mute hand gestures and the four girls separated into pairs and jogged towards their things to prepare for their hike. Clarke looked back towards the group when Bellamy spoke up. “I’m going.”

Clarke didn’t have to look at Lexa to know she didn’t approve. “Someone needs to stay here to make sure everything runs smoothly. You can help Monty with his water filter, maybe find a way to make traps and weapons so that we can go hunting. Maybe catch some fish. There’s a lot that needs to be done here, we can’t have all of our leaders off in the forest.”

“You don’t believe you’re coming either?” Lexa levelled her with an incredulous glare. “You can hardly walk.”

Clarke scoffed. “I’m fine, it’s a sprain, not a big deal.”

“Which will only get worse with strain-“ Bellamy began.

“And you’re our only doctor-“ Lexa finished.

“Not a doctor.” Clarke glared at Lexa. “Besides didn’t you say Monroe was a nursing student? She can handle this just fine, I’m sure.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and turned away. “You’ll only slow us down.”

“I’m going.” Clarke crossed her arms. “That’s final. Bellamy can take care of things here. I want to be there if we come across the wreckage.”

Lexa looked ready to fight, but instead backed down and walked to her cousin’s side, having a quietly muttered conversation in the same language Clarke had heard Lexa speaking earlier. Clarke made a mental note to ask about it later, she had never heard a language like it before.

Bellamy chose to send out Jasper and Miller with them, giving them a total of eight hikers. Lexa lead them several yards into the forest before stopping the group, glaring at Clarke. “I have a few makeshift knives. Each of you is to stay with your partner, as you walk, use the knife to mark the trees you pass so that you can find your way back. Travel in a sweeping motion, each of you will have a different direction to go into. If you find water, collect as much as possible, and meet back at camp. If not, meet at camp midafternoon.” Lexa proceeded to show each of them how to tell time by the positioning of the sun, holding up their fists parallel with the horizon. “Understood? If you come across any nuts or berries, _do not eat them_. Collect a few and we’ll see if anyone else recognizes them. But I cannot stress enough not eating anything you don’t recognize.”

“We’re not dumb.” Jasper sneered.

“Could’ve fooled me.” She snapped back. “That performance with Murphy back there doesn’t help your argument.”

Clarke bit back a smile, Lexa wasn’t wrong, after all. “Let’s just get going, we’re wasting time bickering.”

Lexa nodded and sent them off in their directions, reminding them which direction camp is before she turned back to Clarke. “Last chance to turn back. It’s not easy hiking through a forest, let alone with a sprained ankle.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

Lexa tsked and turned in their own direction, taking the northeastern direction. Clarke assumed this was because Lexa was confident in her ability to find her way back.

As they moved forward, Clarke noticed the way Lexa moved, like she was at home in the woods, she slashed at the waxy bark of the trees around her, muttering under her breath in that language Clarke didn’t know. Her footsteps were light and nearly silent, if it weren’t for the rustling of the broad leaves she had to push out of the way. “What is it with you and Bellamy anyway?” Clarke spoke up as she limped after her.

“I don’t trust him.” Lexa grunted, stabbing the trunk of a tree viciously. “You saw him, his gun is his power.” Lexa shoved past a curtain of vines angrily. “What idiot tells his whole group of scared, injured survivors that help isn’t coming? Was he trying to start a panic?”

Clarke nodded her agreement. “I don’t exactly trust him either, but if anyone knows what to do, it’s him.” Lexa pushed forward into a small clearing in the trees, and then pulled up short. Clarke managed to twist to the side before she ran straight into her back, but she didn’t pay much mind to Lexa. “I think Bellamy was right about the water, but you’re right about the forest. I don’t know, maybe the two of you should work together. He’s able to keep everyone in line, but you keep a level head.”

Lexa gave her a strange look before she grabbed her arm with considerable force, bringing her closer, and before Clarke could say anything she squatted down into the foliage. “And what about you Clarke?” Lexa spoke slowly. “Aren’t you considered a leader among the group? They trust you to take care of them.” She said each word deliberately, but Clarke was distracted by Lexa’s forefinger dragging over her skin.

Clarke opened her mouth to question her but Lexa cut in before she could say anything. “But perhaps you’re right. He was able to break up the fights between Murphy and Jasper better than I would have.” It was like she was drawing on Clarke’s arm. A circle, and then a line through it. A hook. A _U_? “The problem is that we don’t know our surroundings very well, or the people around us.” An _I_. “We need to know what’s going on.” _E._ “Why help hasn’t come along.” _T_. “But until then we need to focus on just surviving and staying calm.” _Quiet_. “Understood?”

Clarke gaped at her for a moment before she nodded, shutting her mouth with a click and straining to listen to their surroundings. Lexa was silent and still for a moment, hand groping beneath the foliage for a moment. “We’ve been travelling downhill, we should feel the soil getting wetter as we get closer-“ Lexa didn’t finish her thought before she lunged forward like a panther, and twisted, flinging whatever she had grabbed rapidly into the foliage behind them.

Clarke shot to her feet when she heard the unnatural sound of metal clinging and the quiet buzzing of insects turning to whirring and humming of helicopter blades. The thing Lexa hit crashed past a broadleaf into the clearing and turned in circles, struggling to jump back into the air. Lexa was quick to jump forward and slam her heel into the center of the drone, the blades stopped and it sat harmlessly in the center of the forest.

“What the fuck!” Clarke yelped, rushing forward as Lexa dropped to her knees to inspect the drone silently.

“Somebody knows we’re here, and they want to stay concealed.” Lexa muttered as she lifted a shattered camera lens.

“How did you even know that was there?”

Lexa shrugged a shoulder. “Insects don’t have that constant hum from so far away. Usually it flits about your head, you can only really hear them when you’re a foot or so away, not several yards. I may not have grown up in the tropics, but I know what a forest is supposed to sound like.”

“It’s probably not a stealth drone then.”

“Still not a good sign. Why are they not coming to us?”

Clarke stopped. “Maybe they can’t get to us?”

“Nowhere a helicopter can’t get to.” Lexa looked up at Clarke, eyebrows knit together. “Who does this belong to? Evidently they were following us, what are they trying to learn? They should already know that we’re as vulnerable as it gets.”

“Should we tell camp about this?” Clarke squatted next to Lexa to ghost her fingertips across the busted drone.

“Yes, we need to be careful about who goes out here and what is said in the open now that we know we’re being watched.”

“Bellamy will want to go find them.” Clarke warned. “But maybe Monty can rig something useful out of these parts.”

Lexa fell silent, lips pursed in thought. “Maybe we should let him. Let him take a couple of people to scout out. We get rid of our Bellamy problem, and some of the problem people, the ones most loyal to him.”

“We should stick together, Lexa.” Clarke hissed. “They could get hurt out there, what if these people are hostile? You’re willing to let Bellamy lead people to their deaths?”

“If he stays and continues to divide our crew we could all end up dead.”

Clarke shrugged a shoulder uncomfortably. “We should at least try to stop him. Maybe we should send a larger group to the other half of the plane. Make sure that there aren’t any survivors left.”

Lexa shook her head. “The other wreckage could be closer to the people flying this.” She held up the drone. “I don’t know how far the reach of these things goes to, but that plane could have crashed right into their territory, and if they’re hostile, then we’d be walking right into the enemy.”

“But we don’t know if they’re hostile.”

“They’re obviously not overly friendly.” Lexa grumbled, looking away from the blonde.

Clarke nodded. “Best to assume they’re hostile.”

“Agreed.” Lexa stood, holding the drone. “Let’s get back to camp, we’ll decide what to do from there. Monty could probably give us more information about this drone.”

The march back to camp seemed to take forever. Clarke hadn’t realized how far they’d managed to walk, but she supposed anxiety over being watched may have distorted time a bit. Lexa was mostly silent as they walked, and Clarke noticed the change in the buzzing life around her that Lexa told her about. The buzzing of insects and birds was nowhere near as consistent in texture and volume as it had been before when the drone had been following them. Lexa was back to muttering in that language again.

“What language are you speaking?” Clarke couldn’t hold back the question.

Lexa turned her face, raising an eyebrow. “Trigedasleng,”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

Lexa chuckled humorlessly. “My people are a group of natives that live on a small reserve in Pennsylvania. They were nearly wiped out by the genocide Andrew Jackson committed on my people and the other clans of the area. There were only a few bloodlines left in the Trikru Clan during his presidency. Now there are a few hundred descendants, but only a dozen or so are full blooded. My cousins and I are a few examples.” She stopped a moment. “I wouldn’t be surprised you hadn’t heard of us. My people are isolated. They can be… volatile. It took many years for Anya, Tris, and I to convince our clansmen to allow us to go to college among the people whose ancestors tore our people apart for sport.”

Clarke felt a stab of guilt, logically she knew what happened to Lexa’s ancestors wasn’t her fault, but she still felt awful for taking advantage of the privileges handed to her because of the actions of her own ancestors. “So you grew up on a reserve?”

Lexa nodded. “We were taught the language of our people, before we even learned English, and how to live on our own in the forests. Nothing like this kind of forest though.” She gestured to the vines surrounding them. “That’s why I’m so concerned. It’s unfamiliar.”

Clarke let the conversation die as she struggled to keep up with Lexa. She was a woman on a mission and it took everything Clarke had to limp along at her quick pace. She could feel her ankle throbbing and pain shot through her leg every time she stepped over a root or through particularly thick vines.

“We’re almost there.” Lexa assured her as she helped her past some thicker broadleaves. “Can’t you hear the water?”

Lexa slowed a bit as they brushed through the last few trees of the forest and onto the beach. Bellamy was crouched next to Aden, holding a makeshift knife, telling him how to use it, or at least how not to cut off his own hand. Lexa marched forward, barking out his name as she approached.

Bellamy whipped around and Lexa threw the broken drone into the sand at his feet. “We’re not alone.”

Bellamy gaped down at it before looking back up at Lexa. A crowd quickly formed around them as everyone noticed their return. Monty fell to his knees when he reached the drone and immediately went to tinkering with the wiring and blades of the drone, ignoring everything around him.

“There’s a camera on it.” Clarke explained, a hand on her hip. “The drone was following us as we were looking for water. There’s probably more following the other groups. In fact there’s probably a couple watching us right now in the tree line.”

Bellamy opened his mouth to argue. “It was trying to remain hidden. It’s a scout of some sort, but Clarke and I agree that it’s likely unfriendly.” Lexa cut in with a glare.

“And how would you know that?” Aden’s mother called from the crowd. Aden gave a sheepish, apologetic smile to Lexa.

“Why would they send out drones instead of come straight to us?” Murphy countered. “These bastards are probably waiting for us to starve to death or something.”

“Lexa,” Anya called from her spot off to the side. “They think we’re a threat.”

Lexa shook her head. “Why would they think that? We’re at our most vulnerable right now. Disorganized, hungry, thirsty, injured, now’s the time to cut us down.”

Clarke shrugged, crouching to run her fingers along the twisted metal in Monty’s hands. “Obviously they think we’re capable of _something._ Why would they have watched us so closely all night if we didn’t pose a threat?”

“What would be threatening to someone who’s obviously in a better position than us?” Bellamy crossed his arms, furrowing his brows and glaring at the sand.

The group fell silent, the air thick with nervous tension. Finally Aden stepped forward slowly, shoving off his mother’s arm to come level with Lexa. “When I was bullied by Nathan at school, he used to hit me and stuff a lot, but I got him to stop when I found out that he didn’t know how to ride a bike. He still watches me all the time to make sure I don’t tell anyone, but maybe they’re doing the same thing. Maybe we know something, or will know something, about them that they don’t want anyone to know about. Knowledge is power right?” Aden blushed a little and looked down at his feet.

Lexa looked to Clarke in stunned silence. “That would make sense.”

Clarke smiled at Aden. “Maybe you’re right.”

“What do we even know about them that could possibly pose a threat?” Bellamy complained. “All we know is that they’re here and they have drones.”

“These drones don’t have much more than an eight mile control radius. The pilot is at maximum eight miles away from here.” Monty spoke from the sand at their feet.

“You think you can make a radio or something out of that?” Clarke asked hopefully.

“Probably not.” Monty gave a sad half smile. “Maybe if you nabbed a couple more, but honestly I doubt I could make anything like that. But these parts could probably still be salvaged to make something useful. I’ll add it to the pile of phones and computers we’ve got going on over there.”

Clarke nodded and stood up again, crossing her arms and looking to Lexa. “We need to figure out what to do next.”

Lexa nodded. “We’ll figure it out when the other groups come back. If we’re lucky they’ll have found water.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez I'm sorry for the wait guys. Final exams are coming up so I'm studying like crazy. But enough excuses, I'm working on the next chapter immediately after I finish posting this chapter. Let me know if you like yeah? I wanna hear what yall think. Even if you're completely uninterested and you find the plot too predictable or the characters are ooc. I just wanna talk to yall ya know? Oh! Almost forgot, the Trigedasleng Lexa was speaking translates to: You are a fool. Fucker will get us all killed. I know that normally when saying "you" the word should be "yu" but I figured Lexa would not be nearly as polite towards an idiotic Bellamy. So she used the ruder version "du."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys! Finals are over now and I graduate in two weeks, so my time is starting to open up. I've gotten through my plot issues with this monstrosity and now it's just about getting the words on the page yeah? Further notes later on things like the tag edits and changes I've made to the story.

Raven couldn’t say that Dante Wallace mistreated them. In fact, he treated them fairly well, they had free reign of the entire floor, though it was mostly bare bedrooms and a bathroom. The captain and co-captain were separated from them, but Raven wouldn’t know what they looked like anyway. There were six people other than Abby and herself, and the two that were able to move around rarely left their rooms. They haunted the halls like ghosts, pale and terrified of the terrorists holding them in a cell designed to resemble luxury.

They were given proper, large meals that Raven hated to admit were quite delicious. Nurses checked the two injured survivors, the other two having died from their wounds, and Abby and Raven were provided with board games and a deck of cards to keep their attention.

Raven begged one of the nurses to give her spare materials for a brace, and with the approval of Dante, the nurse returned with strips of metal and various tools for Raven to tinker with. Abby watched her dimly as she worked, it was clear the surgeon was not truly paying attention to Raven.

It took several hours and many frustrating attempts to get the brace working the way it needed to be, but by the afternoon, or what the clock told Raven was the afternoon, she was able to limp with the help of a crutch. Abby absently congratulated her on her success before falling silent again.

Raven sighed, taking a seat, without a project to focus all of her restless energy on, she had to let her mind run. Clarke was alive, that was good, Clarke was alive and others were with her. All good things. But they’re being watched, and Dante knows what is going on in the south beach. Raven couldn’t see any cameras in the room they were sitting in, but she couldn’t assume that there weren’t bugs picking up every word they said.

Raven grabbed one of the sketchpads she was given and a pencil, scrawling out a short message to Abby before sliding the paper her way. “I bet Clarke is having the time of her life. She loves the beach.” _How are we getting out?_

Abby forced a chuckle, scribbling onto the paper. “That she does. One time, when she was seventeen, she snuck out of the house and she and her friends drove to the beach three hours away.” _I don’t know, I’m positive they’re guarding us. There’s no escape from the inside._

“That sounds like Clarke.” Raven laughed. _I can scope out the floor now on the pretense that I’m practicing with the brace. Count the cameras._

“She got sunburned so badly she made herself sun sick.” _Good idea, maybe there’s an air vent we can crawl through._ “Got home at midnight, I was downright beside myself.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t birth kittens, Doc.” _You’ve been watching too many movies. We’ll see._

“Me too,” Abby smiled. _Use the spare metal for knives or something, we may need to fight our way out._

“I really hope they’re doing okay.” Raven sighed. _We can hide them in the brace and throughout the floor. You should get the other survivors in on this._

“Dante said that they were okay.” _And the captains?_

“Yes but Dante also said they were going to get to them eventually.” _We have no contact with them. They’re probably dead._

“They’re treating us well so far.” Abby sighed. _We should find out where they are anyway._

“But for how long? They can’t keep us here forever. They’re going to kill us eventually.”

“Maybe not. We can try and make a deal with them.”

“That would be your forte, Abby. I’m not good at negotiating.” Raven smirked. “Too demanding.”

Abby chuckled, though her eyes were a little too teary to be a truly convincing smile. “Yes, you are. I’ll ask one of the nurses to bring Dante to me.”

Raven nodded and turned back to her pile of materials.

 

 

Raven hoped that the clinking of the brace on her leg could be passed off as simply crude craftsmanship.

In reality, Raven would scoff at anything made by her own two hands possibly being called “ _crude_.” Raven was the best damn mechanic in the world, and nothing she did was anything below perfection.

But she wouldn’t say that to her captors, the less they knew about what she can do, the better. Raven, when her face wasn’t scrunched in concentration or pain while she walked, spent hours, days, years, walking up and down the hall, sometimes using her crutch, sometimes leaning heavily on the wall, looking subtly for any sort of weakness in the walls, doors, ceilings, air ducts, anything. She was going to find the chink in the armor, she was going to find a way out.

And the chink in the armor was revealed.

Raven couldn’t believe that she’d missed the panel beneath the elevator buttons. It was thin and almost invisible to the untrained eye, but Raven had fixed, and broken, a few elevators in her day. She could make it impossible to reach the floor by elevator, and then the only way in was through the stairs. They’d be alone on the floor.

An elevator completely under their control would give them the mobility they needed, but they didn’t know enough about the rest of the facilities. Dante would almost certainly refuse volunteers from their group to join his cause. He’d assume they just wanted to escape. That’s what she’d assume, if she were in his position.

Raven huffed as she turned a corner. There were too many unknowns, and the only thing that kept them alive was Dante’s hesitance to outright kill them.

And if he ever got over that hesitance, they were dead.

She and Abby needed to find their way out. Abby would have to rally the survivors, get them to unite, and then they needed to make a run for it. They’d brandish crudely made weapons and Raven would struggle to keep up with them, rip the stitches in her back in doing so.

Raven snarled and slammed her fist into the wall beside her. This was useless. She knew it was to their advantage that the A.L.I.E. facilities had not been designed to hold hostages, she knew that it was good for them that Dante hesitated to kill them, and she knew that it was good that the terrorists had to hastily throw together this floor to keep them on, neglecting cameras in the bedrooms and relying on hall surveillance, but they simply didn’t know enough.

Raven whimpered as she struggled to bend her fingers, she probably broke a knuckle or fractured her hand. She’d need to talk to one of the nurses when they came back to check on the two bedridden passengers. Raven supposed she should learn the names of her fellow survivors.

Raven muttered darkly to herself as she hobbled back to the bedroom she and Abby had claimed and shoved her way through the door to find herself face to face with Abby and the two other able-bodied survivors.

The dark skinned man sat on Raven’s cot stood and strode easily towards her. He was a few inches taller than her, and his shoulders were broad. He set an intimidating posture, but it was clear he didn’t typically rely on his physicality to keep control. He gave a polite smile, white shining through the short brambles of his dark beard. He offered a large hand.

Raven hesitated only a moment before taking the hand with her own, wincing at the pressure on her injured knuckles. “Charles Pike,” He smiled. “You must be Raven Reyes.”

Raven gave a curt nod and turned to the other person, raising an eyebrow. The young man stood, combing a hand through his silky black hair and fixing his golden eyes on Raven. “Abdul Rashid,” He did not offer a smile, but his handshake told Raven everything she needed to know, he was firm, but not a leader. “Call me Rashid, though, my name can be a mouthful.”

Raven didn’t offer anything in return, simply looking to Abby. “Making friends?”

Pike answered for her. “The rooms are not bugged. We’ve turned over every ounce of this room, and no recording materials are here. We’ve been planning our escape. You have the weapons I’m assuming? We can fight our way out I’m sure-“

“They’ll have guns.” Raven interrupted sharply. “We won’t survive a fight. But what if we had an inside man? One of the nurses might have some information.”

Abby nodded. “Dante has no interest in negotiating. It’s all or nothing here.” Abby scanned the three others. “I think it’d be best if Raven interrogated the nurse. Pike and I make natural assumed leaders, they’d expect less from a young, injured girl.”

Raven felt the anger rise up from the center of her chest and tear itself through her throat. She glared heavily at the surgeon, clenching her good fist repeatedly. Her eyes glittered with fury. “I’m not some _injured_ girl.” She hissed.

Abby sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that Raven. You know that.”

“I know exactly what you meant.” Raven spat, storming from the room.

She nearly knocked over the young nurse outside in the hall, just leaving from checking up on her patients. She scrambled to apologize to Raven and blabbered on about being in the way and her own clumsiness.

“It’s alright. I knocked into you.” Raven huffed. “While you’re here…” She held up her swollen hand.

“Oh! Um sure, here let’s sit you down.” The nurse gestured for Raven to follow her. “So how did this happen?”

“Punched a wall.” Raven grunted.

“You know the wall is going to win that fight every time right?”

“You think I care?” Raven snapped.

The nurse’s smile dropped from her face. “Sorry, I just, I’m not as funny as I like to think I am.”

Raven huffed a quick sigh through her nose. “Shouldn’t have snapped, I guess.”

A few moments passed as the nurse poked and prodded her hand, flexing her fingers and questioning her on her pain. “I’m Maya.” She offered quietly. “I’m sorry to have upset you, if I said anything offensive I’m-“

“Look, what you’re saying doesn’t fucking matter.” Raven snarled. “You’re holding us captive. It’s not our fault we’re here. You honestly don’t expect us to be happy about that huh? I have a life, friends, people I care about. I have an ex to prank call with my best friend and a job that I love. Instead, I’m here getting my hand fixed up by a terrorist.”

Maya gaped at her. “I’m not a part of A.L.I.E.” She murmured. “And my parents aren’t either. At least, not willingly. The Wallaces hired us long before they introduced us to A.L.I.E., but we had no choice in the matter.”

“It doesn’t matter your intentions.” Raven hissed. “Only what you do.”

Maya visibly shook as she wrapped Raven’s knuckles in an Ace bandage. “What even can I do? I’m just a nurse-“

“Help us.” Raven demanded. “Tell us how to get out of here. Help us. We can take you with us when we leave.”

Maya watched her carefully, big doe eyes staring at her in fear. “I don’t know.”

“How many guards are there?”

“Not many. We’re not equipped to hold hostages, this is supposed to be a planning facility, a place A.L.I.E. members go when their covers have been blown.” Maya whispered, voice wavering. “Everything we’re doing is put together at the last minute. Dante and Cage have been trying to decide what to do with you for two days now.”

“What about the captains?”

“They’re downstairs. Dante is keeping them separated from the rest because he wants to prevent natural leaders from rising and mounting a rebellion.”

Maya finished wrapping Raven’s hand and sat back, still shaking in terror, her eyes darted around the room. Raven sat forward. “Are the rooms bugged?”

“No, we didn’t have the time nor the equipment for that. There are cameras in the hall though.” Maya took a shaky breath. “I’m scared, traitors to A.L.I.E. are unheard of, and even if there were, no one knows what happens to them. They could kill my father, could kill me.”

Raven clenched her jaw, she leaned forward further and set her good hand on Maya’s shoulder. “If you help us, we can help you. Once we get out of here, we can signal someone for help. And get this whole facility taken down. You know what they’re doing to us is wrong. You can do something about it.”

Maya took a shaky breath before nodding. “Okay, just- just tell me what you need, and I’ll work on getting it for you.”

Raven sighed. “Thank you. You’re doing the right thing.”

“I’m sorry this happened.” She whispered.

Raven patted her shoulder and stood. “We’re going to get out of here, and you’ll be free from A.L.I.E.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so shorter chapter I know, but this side of the story is the most difficult to write, I'm sure you can understand why. My original intention was to have Maya remain unnamed and dead in the crash, but it didn't make sense, so we've introduced her here. Now for Raven's story. As you can see, I've changed the ship tag to Raven/Anya, my original intention was to kill Anya off later to further Lexa's character development and show the progression of the plot, however, I decided to keep her alive. She'll show up in my planned sequel alive and well. As for Octavia, well, you'll get more information on her arcs later when we get to that. Like I've been telling you, I started thinking about this fic a couple months ago, and once I started, it spiraled into a giant monstrosity with a million arcs and plot lines, I've learned Trigedasleng and drawn like five separate maps for this thing. I've put more effort into this shitty fanfiction than into my diploma so I really hope you guys enjoy. Some feedback would be absolutely amazing, I love hearing what you guys have to say, whether it's criticism or praise :)


	7. Chapter 7

“You can’t be serious.”

“No guns, none. Not a single one.” Maya’s eyes gleamed in something akin to triumph and amusement.

Raven cackled from her spot on her cot next to Maya. Abby stood dumbstruck. “That’s impossible, they have to have guns.”

Maya shrugged. “This is a planning facility. Cage may have a pistol, but Dante doesn’t believe in violence.”

Rashid smiled a winning smile at Maya, perhaps intent on charming her, but her focus was on elbowing Raven in a poor attempt at shutting the girl up. “That is good news.”

Pike scoffed. “Then we fight our way out. If he’s not willing to fight, we should show that we are.”

Maya’s amusement sobered a little. “Shouldn’t we avoid hurting anyone?”

Raven wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened a bit. “This means we might as well just walk the fuck out. Let’s go.”

Abby sighed, rubbing at her brow. “It’s brilliant, keeping us here with mystery and misinformation.”

Maya cleared her throat. “Dante is leaving the island tomorrow and coming back in two days. He’s leaving Cage in charge, but I expect he’s making a supply run to Fiji. It’s a long flight, but I’m sure he’s had everything delivered there already.”

“Fiji? I thought we were closer to Japan.” Abby demanded. “That’s where our plane was heading.”

Maya stared up at them. “No, I mean, we’re far out from anywhere inhabited don’t get me wrong, but your plane must have been seriously off course if you were heading to Japan and ended up here.”

Raven let out a defeated breath. “So what the hell was happening in the cockpit?”

Pike shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that we get the hell off this damn island and we take as many of these terrorists out as possible.”

Rashid nods excitedly. “We should fight.”

“No fighting.” Abby snaps. “We get out of here with as little violence as possible. In case you two haven’t noticed, half of us are too injured to run, let alone fight.”

Raven looked down at her leg. She could feel their eyes on her, she didn’t need to see to know they pitied her. Raven clenched her good fist tightly. “I can get control of the elevator, no problem. Shut it down so that the only way in or out is the stairs, it creates a bottleneck for the guards, put Pike and Rashid at the front, two big dudes fight through the responding guards, then we make a run for the trees Maya told us about, yeah?”

Maya nodded emphatically. “I can get us supplies and hide them in the forest. I go on a walk across this nice little trail every night. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. We pick up the supplies there and head south. I’ve been doing some info gathering and there’s a tip of the island that’s out of range of the drones. We go there and set up camp and contact help with a radio.”

“Now that’s a goddamn plan!” Raven smiled, bumping Maya’s shoulder with her own.

Maya beamed back and stood to her feet. “Two days, give me two days to gather supplies and hide them, by then Dante will be shipping in, he takes a boat back, and everyone will be distracted with unloading the shipment rather than worrying about making sure you guys are behaving.”

“And the pilots?” Pike interrupted.

Maya sighed. “Thelonius and Marcus are still downstairs.”

“We should bust them out too.” Raven piped up.

Maya nodded. “When it’s time to go, I’ll visit them, take them up here, when we show up, you disable the elevator and we get going.”

Abby shook her head. “And the two that can’t even walk? Raven you don’t honestly think you can run?”

“I’m not some sort of cripple, Abby!” Raven snapped.

“I know that!” Abby snapped back. “You know that I don’t mean to belittle you, but there are things you just can’t do when your leg has been disabled! It’s a fact of life, Raven, you still have stitches in your back and you have to walk with a brace. That doesn’t mean you’re less of who you are, it just means that if our plan hinges on our ability to run, you’ll be the first to die!”

Silence fell over the group as Raven and Abby stared each other down. “I can do this. I have to.”

Abby practically growled, but she forced herself to back down, angering Raven would only make her more stubborn. “Fine, but we still need to decide how we’re going to move those two passengers.”

Maya shook her head solemnly. “They haven’t woken up yet. The doctors that have been checking on them say that they might not make it anyway. I’d say they’re a lost cause.”

Abby opened her mouth to argue, but a large hand landed on her shoulder. Pike stepped forward and heaved a sigh. “Hard decisions have to be made, Abby. We can’t risk our lives for two people who may not even survive anyway. Besides, they’re at least getting medical treatment here. We’re heading off to the jungle. They’ll almost certainly die out there.”

Abby shook her head. “I don’t believe in lost causes.” After a moment she ran her hand through her hair and gave a reluctant nod. “But we can’t get them out without guaranteeing our own deaths.”

Raven looked away, staring hard at the plain walls surrounding them. “How far is the drone range?”

“Eight miles.” Maya answered automatically.

Raven closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. “I can do that.”

 

Lexa sat silently on the beach, back to the bonfire, staring at the tree line. Clarke had no idea what she was hoping to see, but she supposed anything was better than listening to the nervous speculations concerning the drones and the people behind them. Clarke understood Lexa’s isolation, but something about the frown tugging at her lips made Clarke uneasy, even more so than the unknown.

Clarke took a seat next to her in silence, letting the warmth of the fire wash over her back, and looked out to the jungle. “Everyone’s on edge.”

“Understandable. The river we found is within range of those drones. It makes sense everyone’s nervous.” Lexa answered blankly. “We can’t escape.”

“We don’t even know who we’re trying to escape from.” Clarke huffed. “What do you think we should do?”

Lexa glanced at Clarke before turning back towards the forest. “We set up a watch system at night.”

Clarke glared at the side of Lexa’s face. “You know I meant more than that.”

Clarke couldn’t tell if she actually saw the twitching of the corners of Lexa’s mouth or if she imagined it, but her thoughts were ripped from her when Lexa sighed. “We need to set up camp, and I mean a more permanent camp that will protect us from the weather. We have to focus on getting contact with people who can actually help us. It’s evident that the people on this island are not going to come to our aid, and obviously no one else saw the plane go down. We’re on our own out here against people we don’t know.”

Clarke could feel her whole body sag as Lexa explained the situation. “We can’t stay here, north is where the people are, west is impassable. That leaves east. You can’t see it now while it’s dark, but I thought I saw cliffs to the east that kind of jut out. It’s probably far enough away from here that the drones can’t reach us. We should move the group that way.” Clarke suggested.

Lexa nodded. “You’re probably right. However, that kind of move will take at least a day of planning, we’ll need to carry enough water for everyone, rig up a way to carry everyone who can’t walk, and find the food we’ll need to fuel us.”

Clarke hunched forward. “There’s the matter of keeping Jasper and Murphy from killing each other.”

“And Bellamy is certainly a problem.”

Clarke’s thoughts swirled with the problems she faced. It seemed fucking impossible. With everything against her, how the hell is she supposed to keep everyone alive? “This is a disaster.”

Lexa grunted. “That’s what they say about plane crashes.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and shoved Lexa’s shoulder playfully. “You and Anya, I swear.”

Lexa raised an eyebrow, a mischievous half smirk gracing her lips. “Anya’s worse than I am.”

Clarke chuckled and let the conversation die down. People had begun to drift off to sleep, Aden laid a few yards to their right, spread eagled on his back, snoring quietly. She silently nodded towards him, enjoying the quiet huff of a laugh Lexa let out at seeing her second shadow so completely exhausted.

“My mom was at the front of the plane. So was my best friend.” Clarke blurted out after some time.

Lexa turned to her, her eyebrows raised in sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

Clarke gave her a wobbly smile and shrugged one of her shoulders. “I don’t know why I said that, we’ve all lost someone. I just- I can’t stop thinking about them and how much easier this would be and what am I going to do when we get back? You know? And I’m just laying this all out on you and-“

“Clarke,” Lexa interrupted her. With a soft bump of her shoulder, she conveyed everything she needed to. Clarke understood. _It’s okay._ “Tell me about them.”

Clarke was at a loss. How do you describe two of the most important people in your life to someone who’s never met them? How do you convey the enormity of the impact their presence as had on you?

“My mom and I don’t really get along very well, I guess. But I love her. She’s my mom.” She choked out. Lexa let her take a deep, shaky breath. Her green eyes never left Clarke, but she didn’t push her to continue. Simply let Clarke get out what she needed to get out. “But Raven… she’s been my best friend since high school.”

Lexa watched her in silence. “What was she like?”

Clarke snorted. “Anya reminds me of her. You know, the snarky attitude, always has something to say. She can be mean sometimes but she’s been the most loyal friend I’ve ever had.” Clarke stopped for a moment. “We started out as rivals actually.” Clarke smiled, eyes skimming the dark shadows of the trees.

“How’d that happen?”

Clarke chuckled. “My junior year of high school, my father died. My mom and I, we moved away to kind of, I don’t know, get out of the place we were in, find a new way to live without him I guess. So senior year I was new to town, didn’t know anybody, and I met this guy. He was nice enough, kind of had that bad boy, rebel attitude I guess.” Clarke smirked. “You know how girls are, trying to tame the bad boy, or the bad girl, if that’s your cup of tea.”

Lexa chuckled. “I like to think I was the bad girl being tamed.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Right, whatever you say. Anyway, his name was Finn, and he was so sweet you know? He was always really considerate. I guess I needed that after my dad. So after a couple of weeks we started dating. He was really a great boyfriend. Every once and a while he’d bring me a flower or something, goodnight texts, all the lovey shit teenagers do.” Clarke laughed. “So, one night, about six months in, and it’s cold as shit, and I’m at Finn’s place, he left to do something, I think he was making a sandwich or something, but he left his phone on the couch next to me.”

“You snooped?” Lexa smirked.

“No!” Clarke shoved her shoulder again. “I did not! I’m not that kind of girl.”

“Right,” Lexa teased.

Clarke scoffed, flipping her hair indignantly. “Anyway, Finn’s phone kept going off repeatedly with texts. I glanced at it to see who was blowing up his phone and all I saw was Raven Reyes texting Finn and the last one said ‘Finn, respond goddamn it it’s an emergency,’ so of course I was concerned. I picked up the phone to take it to him when she started calling him, so I answered it.”

Lexa hissed in sympathy. “This won’t end well.”

“Just wait. So I asked what was wrong, and she starts launching into how it’s snowing, something about Satan’s asshole, and her car broke down and she didn’t have all the parts she needed for the fix and she needed a ride. So of course I’m like, sure no problem, a friend of Finn’s needs help, but I guess it took her a minute to realize she wasn’t talking to Finn. She asked who I was and I told her that I was his girlfriend. That of course started the whole ‘no you can’t be his girlfriend _I’m_ his girlfriend’ argument.”

“I can imagine.”

“So in true Raven form, she swears a lot, starts yelling about how her boyfriend of two years has been cheating on her with some other girl for the last six months, and _fuck_ it’s cold outside. I’m pissed off at everything, so I just leave his house. He’s making a sandwich in the kitchen and has no idea what’s just happened, and I start driving. But I felt really bad because I’m the homewrecker that ruined this poor girl’s relationship, so I pulled off to where she was, still out on the side of the road, so much angrier than before and offered her a ride. She accepted and I apologized a couple of times before I heard her muttering something about ‘of course she has to be a cute blonde’ and I just started laughing. After a bit she joined in and we started planning our revenge. We’ve been practically inseparable ever since.”

Lexa smiles, wide and white. “That’s quite a story. What’d you end up doing to the boy?”

“I don’t even remember. But he tried to get us both back a few months ago, caused a whole big thing within our circle of friends, a big mess. I can’t really imagine life without Raven though.”

Lexa’s smile slowly dims, but a part of it stays, leaving her face painted with a hint of amusement before finally it drops off. “When I first left the Trikru lands, the reserve, I met the most incredible woman. She was intelligent, smarter than anyone I’ve ever met, and _happy_. Everywhere she went she just, lit up the room. Two years ago, she was killed in a car crash.” Lexa gave a half smile in a poor attempt at hiding her sadness. “I loved her very much.” Clarke could hardly breathe through the silence that fell between them. “I understand how it feels to lose someone so close.”

“What was her name?” As soon as the question left her lips, Clarke regretted it. She shouldn’t be asking all of these questions about this near stranger-

“Costia,” Lexa smiled, as if the taste of her name was enough to brighten her world. Lexa rummaged in the pocket of her jeans, pulling an aged, worn leather wallet out. Out of the wallet she produced a creased picture of a girl, smiling brightly at the camera. Clarke had to admit, this girl was beyond gorgeous, caramel skin, deep brown eyes that fucking _glittered_ , her braids thrown over one shoulder and reaching past her elbows, Lexa hadn’t exaggerated in her descriptions. “She got me into law actually.”

Clarke smiled gently, it was only fair that she listened to Lexa’s nostalgia after Lexa listened to her. Besides, she was curious to learn more about the girl keeping them alive. “Is that so?”

Lexa chuckled, fingertips tracing the picture softly. “I was hopelessly infatuated with this girl I ran across in an elective, so I switched my entire major in an attempt to see her again. Luckiest thing I’ve ever done, I got the girl, and found I had a talent for law.”

Clarke couldn’t stop the grin that stretched across her face. “That’s the dorkiest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

Lexa nodded. “Yeah, to this day I still don’t know why she loved me back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowee, two chapters in as many days! Damn near unheard of! Anyway, I thought I may have been overloading on plot and such, so I figured I'd give yall some fluff/this is as fluffy as my emo ass can get I'm so sorry. Little bit of back story, Lextra, and something akin to humor, I try but unfortunately I'm about as entertaining as Jaha himself, hopefully yall enjoyed!


	8. Chapter 8

Clarke stretched her sore ankle with a hiss, she supposed its constant use would hinder her healing, but she couldn’t exactly avoid using her foot when her survival, and that of everyone around her, relied on her.  


That morning, before dawn, Lexa had risen the survivors to begin preparation for their move. She had everyone gathering materials that they could use, salvaging the last of the luggage strewn across the beach and ripping apart the fuselage for supplies. Bellamy, Miller, and Jasper gathered the bodies of the dead, piling them up to be burned. No one had the energy to dig and the bodies would be washed up later by the tides anyway.  


Monty had approached Lexa with an ingenious plan for transport of heavy materials and the injured survivors. They would drag them along on a makeshift raft in the water, which meant Aden and the passengers that were too hurt or too weak to lift spent the day lashing cushion flotation devices together to make massive rafts. Poor Aden struggled the most though, his arm had been fractured in the crash, and the makeshift splint Clarke had thrown together for him got in the way more than anything else.  


Clarke wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm. Lexa was assisting Monty in tearing apart the plane to reach the wiring and cables inside. She was drenched in sweat, and Clarke genuinely struggled not to drool. Lexa was hot. In more ways than one. But with the way her muscles rippled and the sweat dripped down her throat, Clarke couldn’t focus.  


Clarke nearly choked on her own saliva when Lexa hopped down from the fuselage and removed her soaked jersey from her body, revealing carefully chiseled muscles and fuck were those tattoos?  


Suddenly, Clarke’s mouth was dry, and not because of the beating sun or the never ending store of sand beneath her tongue. She was way too distracted by the tattoo running down Lexa’s spine, the tattoo that wrapped around her bicep, the tattoo on the back of her neck.  


Clarke wrenched her eyes away before Lexa could turn and catch her staring. She hoped that she was too sunburnt to reveal the blush she was almost certainly sporting. Of course, her eyes then landed on Murphy, who made direct eye contact with her and smirked. He raised two fingers to his lips and flicked his tongue out between them, an eyebrow cocked, before cackling and turning back to whatever it was he was doing with a large plate of metal from the outside of the plane. One of Lexa’s teammates stood next to him, she threw her own smirk at Clarke before she attempted to help Murphy despite her wrapped hand. He snapped at her with some sort of comment and she immediately retorted before they both laughed quietly and continued fiddling with the rubbish.  


Clarke cringed and forced herself to her feet, finally lifting her head to find Lexa standing before her, still shirtless, hand on her hip. “Lexa,”  


Lexa tilted her head, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “How do you expect to walk several miles on that ankle?”  


Clarke scowled, huffing in indignation. “I’m fine, I hiked no problem through the forest yesterday.”  


“I’d hardly say ‘no problem’ but I suppose if you want to continue to fool yourself I should let you. However, time is not on our side, you will slow us down if you walk.”  


Clarke drew herself up to her full height, still shorter than Lexa by a couple of inches, much to her frustration. “We can’t let them think that either one of us is weak. Bellamy will capitalize on that. He’ll end up doing something stupid and give us problems.”  


“Allowing an injury to heal is not weakness, continuing to injure yourself in order to prove a point that doesn’t need to be proven is weakness.”  
Clarke rolled her eyes. “Did a fortune cookie tell you that?”  


Lexa arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk twitching at the corner of her lips. “Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Clarke.”  


“Unbelievable, I’m going to check on Anya.” Clarke brushed past the brunette with a huff. Bad idea. That girl was made of stone, Clarke ended up nearly knocking herself over rather than bump Lexa’s shoulder away from her. Clarke wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to keep walking, but she definitely felt Lexa’s eyes on her as she marched towards the shade where Anya sulked, watching the action with narrowed eyes.  


“Go away,” Anya snapped as soon as Clarke reached her.  


“I’m just checking for infection.”  


“And what are you going to do if I get one?”  


“The idea is to prevent you from getting one.”  


Anya scoffed, but allowed Clarke to peel away her makeshift bandage and check the wound. “How bad is it?”  


Clarke huffed as she gently touched the edges of the wound. “Little red, slightly swollen, need to change the bandages more frequently and clean it as best as possible, but we’re on a beach. Beaches aren’t exactly sterile environments. You’ve got some fluid leaking, but nothing abnormal, nothing to worry about, but we have to be incredibly careful.”  


“I’m going to end up on that raft aren’t I?”  


“Absolutely, the less movement with you, the better.”  


“It’s a chest wound, I can walk.”  


Clarke glared heavily at the girl. “I’ll make you a deal. I tie up a sling for this arm so that you don’t aggravate the wound so much, and you can walk and move around. If, and only if, as soon as you start getting winded, sore, or tired, you settle for the raft.”  


Anya’s eyes lit up. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Princess.”  


Clarke nodded, a heavy sigh escaping her as she searched for the materials she’d need for a sling. Some torn clothing would do, but that meant walking by Lexa again, and Clarke wasn’t sure she was physically ready for that.  


Aden was talking to Lexa again, she wasn’t sure Lexa was even comprehending what the kid was saying, Aden was talking so fast, but she was patient. She nodded and responded in all the right places as Aden began to make large gestures, occasionally wincing as he twisted his arm the wrong way. Lexa nodded and crossed her arms, looking towards the forest behind him. Then Lexa was talking, and Clarke was surprised to see she really had been paying attention. Aden watched carefully, nodding in excitement.  


Lexa shrugged a shoulder, a lopsided smile sent to the boy before her had Aden laughing. Lexa nodded and ruffled Aden’s hair. She turned away and ordered a few of her teammates elsewhere towards the edge of the forest. Clarke grabbed a spare shirt and started ripping as she returned to Anya’s side.  


Lexa jogged past them, stopping another teammate, Indra, as she and Octavia walked by carrying driftwood. “Indra, I want you to scout ahead tomorrow when we start walking, make sure there won’t be any problems moving all these people, no rocks to snag the raft and check for drones as we walk. You’re more observant than some of the others.”  


Indra nodded silently, but Octavia pushed forward, settling her driftwood down to stop Lexa from turning away. “I want to go with her. It’s best if we stick together, that way if something happens while she’s out of sight I can report back yeah?” She looked to Indra for reassurance, it was clear they had developed some sort of friendship in the last two days, but Clarke didn’t have time to wonder about the details.  


“Will Bellamy have a problem with that?” Lexa arched an eyebrow.  


“I don’t care if he does.” Octavia scoffed, crossing her arms in a classic rebellious teenager pose. “I can help, I’m able bodied and I’m not scared.”  


Lexa shrugged. “Accompany Indra tomorrow. It’ll help her I’m sure, Indra?” Indra nodded once. “Very well, if Indra doesn’t mind I don’t.”  


They nodded, Octavia puffing up her chest a little in pride and following Indra when the older woman beckoned for her. Lexa huffed, rotating her shoulders and stretching her neck. Clarke finished up with the sling and helped Anya into it as Lexa approached them squatting at her cousin’s side. “Yu ait?”  


Anya grunted. “Chit don yu seken biyo?”  


Lexa tilted her head. “Aden?”  


Anya smirked, glancing over at Aden as he struggled with his task once more. “He’s smart and strong.”  


“Ai laik yongon. Ai nou ogud lev on seken op.” Lexa gave Anya a warning glance.  


“Your tattoos say otherwise.”  


“I’m sorry but what?” Clarke looked between the two, entirely lost. “What about Aden?”  


Lexa rolled her eyes. “Anya is suggesting that Aden is my second, and I am Aden’s fos, or in other words, mentor. It’s how people in our tribe enter adulthood and gain the skills necessary to join the workforce.”  


“Oh,” Clarke sat back on her heels. “What was your mentor like?” She looked to Lexa.  


Anya snickered. “Yes, tell us Heda.”  


Lexa pinched Anya’s thigh and glared. “Anya was my mentor, and she was worse than you’re imagining.”  


Anya aimed a kick at Lexa’s midsection, missed, and tried a second time. “Well look at you now, I’d say I did well.”  


“Nicest thing you’ve said to me in a long time.”  


“Shof op, Leksa.” Anya rolled her eyes.  


Clarke smiled, watching them banter usually either amused her or annoyed her to no end. Today was the former. “So how would that work? Aden isn’t Trikru.”  


“Exactly.” Lexa shrugged. “He wouldn’t understand the importance of it, nor would it really affect him would it? He’s not learning a trade and hopefully we’ll be off this island soon anyway. Besides, I’m too young.”  


“Bullshit, Lexa.” Anya grumbled. “You know being someone’s fos is about more than teaching a trade, and you’re perfectly capable of mentoring him. I was young when I took you as my seken.”  


“Yes, but you’re my cousin, you’d been mentoring me informally for all of my life. It’s different.” Lexa shook her head. “Anya, he’s not Trikru, and we have more important things to worry about.”  


“Like?” Anya sat up, groaning at the pain, but sighing at the feeling of being upright.  


“We don’t know how we’re going to carry our drinking water on this walk. Aden told me he’s been seeing monkeys and wild boars around. He suggested we do some hunting while we set up camp. I figured I’d have some of the girls collect materials. You can probably put together a bow better than Tris and I. It’d give you something to do.” Lexa sighed. “We’re going to need food soon if we keep exerting ourselves like this.”  


“What about that idiot with the gun?” Anya hissed, looking around and finding Bellamy grunting with the weight of another body.  


“I’ve got him busy doing something that’ll appease the others.” Lexa shrugged.  


“That’ll make him look good though…” Anya warned.  


“We have to get rid of the bodies anyway, they’ll just spread disease.” Clarke reminded her.  


“We’re leaving the site tomorrow.” Lexa shook her head. “No, I wanted him doing grunt labor while I kept things organized the way it needs to be. I knew that no one would leave unless due respect was given to the dead. I wasn’t going to let them waste time digging though, this is what we agreed on.”  


“It makes him look good. He’s gaining sympathy by doing right by the dead.”  


“But they’ll see that my priority is with the living.” Lexa retorted. She looked between the two women before her. “The dead are gone, the living are hungry.”  


“Some of them might think you’re cold.” Clarke shrugged. “Disregarding the dead makes you seem kind of heartless.”  


“I don’t need to be loved.” Lexa stood. “Just obeyed. The fewer that question me as the leader, the better, we’ll get more done that way.”  


“Sha, Heda.” Anya smirked.  


“What does Heda mean?” Clarke asked, eyebrows knit, looking between the two.  


“Commander.” Lexa answered, then she turned and jogged off, still shirtless, muscles moving fluidly underneath inked skin.  


“Stop ogling my cousin, there’s work to be done.” Anya jabbed Clarke’s ribs, reveling in her startled yelp.

Clarke relocated four shoulders, two fingers, and a hip. With the hip, she had to ask Monroe for help, she held down the girl, Harper, and they ended up chatting afterwards while Monroe gave her care instructions.  


Clarke got the distinct impression that she just accidentally played matchmaker. But she didn’t have the time to chat with them, she needed to change bandages and do what she could to ward off infection. Monroe had been helping her, but mostly she was helping Lexa with the more laborious tasks needed. Monroe was one of the only unscathed passengers, and Lexa wanted to get things done immediately and quickly. Efficiency was key, and she just didn’t have the time to wait on people who couldn’t keep up. Clarke had mostly allowed the injured passengers with dislocated joints to do small things like boil water for washing injuries and looking for things they could use for medical supplies, things she’d have Monroe doing. But even with their help she was getting overwhelmed. So far they had two first aid kits, a package of band aids, half a dozen ace bandages the athletes had, and the last dregs of Aloe Vera, already used on the sunburned passengers in the past forty eight hours.  


They were fucked. Medically speaking.  


But that didn’t stop Clarke from doing absolutely everything she could. She hadn’t lost anyone yet, fortunately.  


By the end of the day, Clarke deemed everyone healthy enough and ready for travel. Murphy and Emori, one of Lexa’s teammates, had put together something resembling a human led wagon. Except, without the wheels. They had tied off pieces of metal that would carry supplies that two people could harness into, dragging along the sand. It was brilliant, frankly, and Clarke had told them as much. But Murphy shrugged her off, saying that he and Emori would carry their own weight and that was all, but Emori had rolled her eyes behind his back. Clarke assumed that meant that she would talk him around at some point. Murphy sulked off to get some rest, and Emori suggested a rotation of pulling that would give everyone a chance to rest. They had only made one extra sled, but Clarke thanked her profusely anyway, this would allow them to carry more supplies than they had planned on taking. Extra water was always a good thing.  


Lexa had been almost as enthusiastic about the idea, though she didn’t express it the same way. She had clapped Emori on the shoulder and turned away to check on Monty’s raft, there had been a few pitfalls during the day, but he had managed to get everything straightened out. They’d have Harper steering on board while the walkers rotated hauling.  


Lexa herself had been hopping around from task to task, she had been aware of all of the problems facing everyone, and helped to straighten them out, but sometime near the late afternoon she and Tris had disappeared briefly, returning with several monkeys and a bird Clarke didn’t recognize.  


It wasn’t much food for everyone, but it raised morale heavily, and they hadn’t used a single one of Bellamy’s bullets, Lexa had reminded Clarke later as they built the fire they would use to cook everything.  


They held the bonfire that burned all of the dead at sundown. There were plenty of tears, and Clarke couldn’t help but wish that the bodies of her mother and Raven were also in that pyre. At least they wouldn’t be eaten by animals or rot in the harsh metal fuselage of the plane like they probably were now. Clarke would have some semblance of closure, something along the lines of a funeral for them.  


Later as the survivors settled down for sleep, Clarke found herself next to Lexa once more by the fire. Their stomachs weren’t full, but they certainly felt better. After the emotional outpouring of the funeral pyre, some food, and the cool night air, she felt considerably lighter. They had solved a lot of problems today, they had a lot yet to be solved, but they were getting somewhere.  


Lexa smiled at Clarke briefly before stretching out her arms and shoulders. Clarke returned the smile. “Long day,”  


“Productive day,” Lexa corrected her, grin stretching further. “It’ll be a long day tomorrow though. Looking at some of the more injured people, I’m not sure everyone will make it.”  


Clarke nodded grimly. “No infections yet, but with some of those injuries, I wouldn’t be surprised if some do become infected.”  


Lexa laid back to look at the stars, heaving a heavy sigh. “I don’t want any more to die. But we have to do this. We need reliable shelter, and somewhere safe to act as base while we try to figure out what is going on.”  


“Oh fuck no!” Someone shouted from behind them. “Scout my ass!” Clarke closed her eyes as she recognized Bellamy’s angry voice approaching them from behind. “Lexa, get your ass up, who the fuck gave you the right to tell my sister what to do?” He screamed.  


Lexa didn’t move at all. Only Clarke heard the slightest sigh of resignation Lexa gave. “I didn’t tell her to do anything. She volunteered. She’s an adult Bellamy, let her make her own decisions.”  


“She’s barely eighteen!” Bellamy was red faced, spit flying from his mouth. “She’s my little sister and it’s my responsibility to take care of her, and I’m telling you right now to leave her the fuck alone.”  


Lexa turned her head to look at him. “She’s an adult. Take care of her all you want, but it’s still her decision. I didn’t order her to do anything. She volunteered to help one of my friends so that she’d stay safe. If I were you, I’d be proud of her for wanting to help and keep people safe and alive.”  


Bellamy hissed, kicking sand up as he stormed away. He grabbed Octavia’s arm and dragged her away, kicking and hissing insults all the while. “He’s a very angry man.” Clarke observed.  


Lexa snorted quietly. “He is, but I suppose he has the right to be. We’ve been abandoned on this damn island. Don’t get me wrong, I love nature, but personally I prefer waking up without sand crabs tangled in my braids.”  


Clarke felt a laugh bubbling up in her throat. “That’s definitely true. I miss air conditioning.”  


Lexa grinned. “Toilet paper.”  


“Toilet paper.” Clarke agreed, giggling as she tilted her head back to look at the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, god I'm sorry guys. Graduation is over, vacation is over, I'm a jobless slob, and I'm GOING TO FINISH THIS STORY I SWEAR. Anyway, this last weekend has been rough. I don't live in the Orlando area, but my heart goes out to everyone over there, the victims, their families, just everyone. I mourn with you guys.  
> Translations for the Trig:  
> Yu ait- You alright?  
> Chit don yu seken biyo- What did your second say?  
> Ai laik yongon. Ai nou ogud lev on seken op.- I am young/ a child. I am not ready to train a second.


	9. Chapter 9

Raven didn’t get much sleep. She was too busy worrying over their plan. So much could go wrong, they could end up dead. But staying would mean almost certain death.  


Finally she couldn’t take it anymore and she rolled out of bed. Abby wasn’t awake yet, and Raven wondered if Abby knew that she talked in her sleep. Mostly nonsense, but sometimes she’d blurt out random surgical instruments.  


And Raven thought she was obsessed with her job.  


She stood staring at the older woman as she slept, it’s not often Abby isn’t staring at Raven pitifully. And although Raven doesn’t appreciate her pity, she’s grateful that she’s stuck in this shithole with a familiar face at the very least. She could trust Abby. She may think Pike was a little too willing to incite violence, and Rashid would do absolutely anything Pike asked him to do, but she had Abby.  


Her thoughts were ripped from her head when the door opened suddenly to reveal Maya and a small cart of what looked like medical supplies. “Hello, Ms. Reyes, ready for your physical therapy? We have to make sure that knee works correctly.”  


Raven smiled nervously. “Yeah, sure. Abby, wake up.”  


Abby startled awake, eyes immediately scanning the room fearfully. Her lips moved as if she were speaking, but nothing came out. Her eyes finally landed on Raven and Maya and she realized where she was. “S-Sorry,” Her voice was groggy from sleep, but she struggled upwards, untangling her limbs from the threadbare blanket clumsily despite her fatigue.  


“All hands on deck upstairs, all but urgent personnel are required to help with unloading and then there’s a mandatory meeting with Dante. I don’t know what it’s about but hopefully we’ll be long gone by then.” Maya smiled, her nervousness poorly hidden by her fidgeting hands. “I’ve got some supplies that’ll help me get the two downstairs out and up here. They’ve decided that you all are low risk, so they’ve only let two guards outside. It’s a downright miracle. But once the elevator is out of service and they see us rushing the door on the cameras, they’re going to immediately start trying to intercept us. Rashid and Pike can take care of them I’m sure, and then it’s a straight shot to the trees, we’ll be travelling southeast after that until we reach the ocean. It’s eight miles to get there, but we’ll be able to reach it by sun down.”  


Abby threw her blanket to the side and rubbed a hand across her eyes. “What time is it?”  


“Seven in the morning. We have half an hour before the ship is docked and camp will be busy.” Maya answered. “So here, eat some of this, you’ll need the energy, drink up, and hide these on your body, we never know if we’ll need a knife for something.” Maya unloaded four light breakfasts and four bottles of water, all paired with a small switchblade.  


“Thanks, Maya.” Raven smiled. Just as Maya turned around to wheel the cart out, Pike and Rashid appeared in the doorway, both stony faced and tense.  
It felt like only seconds by the time seven thirty rolled around. Raven had eaten fast, too nervous to make conversation or do anything but think through everything that could go wrong, just like the previous night. But when Abby ushered her to the door, she was focused. She was ready.  


“Raven, go take care of the elevator.” Abby ordered her, and Raven took off hobbling down the hallway as fast as she could.  


It only took a second to pop the covering off the elevator buttons with the screw driver she had hidden in her brace. But then she had to make sense of the wires and circuit board in the wall. That took all of thirty seconds, she was the world’s best mechanic after all. Another ten seconds for her to cut the appropriate wires, both the main circuit and the backup emergency circuit.  


She had the elevator disabled in less than a minute, but already she could feel her heart pounding and the adrenaline pumping through her system. She swore she could hear the pounding of boots down the stairs, rushing at her, they’ll pull their guns out and shoot her in the back, or the neck, or the face, and she’ll be dead in seconds.  


But in reality, nothing happened. Instead Maya poked her head in through the door to the stairs, calling out for Rashid and Pike, and the thundering of feet on the stairs were welcomed. Abby gestured for Raven to hurry, and she was up and down the hall as quickly as possible. Abby stayed at her side during the whole struggle up the stairs. Rashid and Pike had already taken out the guards at the top by the time they got there, looking for any weapons that could aid them in their escape.  


“No guns,” Pike furrowed his brow.  


“This is a pacifistic facility.” A man at the back of the group spoke. He had darker skin than Pike, and his brown eyes were filled with grief, even now. He wasn’t particularly physically imposing, Raven thought so at least, but his demeanor was that of a person in power. This was the captain. The man at his side was even less imposing than his captain, he had a rough, unshaven jaw and bags under his eyes, Raven wasn’t sure how long they’d been on the island, but by the looks of this taller man, he hadn’t slept since the crash. He was physically fit, though he slouched enough to hide his physicality. His hair was brown and fell over his forehead in a wave, a shadow of what once was the single most boring hair style Raven could summon in her self-proclaimed vast imagination.  


“If they were pacifists they would have let us go.” Abby levelled a glare at him. “Anyway, we don’t have time for this, let’s go.”  


They rushed into the room fully, Raven barely had the time to take in the normality of the room, how much it looked like one of the model living rooms in Modern Living, before there were more guards rushing in. These guards were armed, but with batons and what Raven assumed were Tasers.  


“Shit,” Raven growled, but the three guards rushing towards them were beset by four desperate men, fighting for their freedom. They were doomed to fail.  


Now Pike, Rashid, and the captain had Tasers and the co-captain handed Abby and Raven batons, keeping one for himself. “My name’s Marcus Kane, and this is Captain Thelonious Jaha.” He said, looking between the two. He made eye contact with them and gave them a sad attempt at a reassuring smile, but he seemed to be gentle, at the very least. Raven hadn’t met a particularly gentle man since Finn, which on its own is sad, but that’s not exactly her fault. The circles she ran were filled with gruff mechanics.  


“We need to go.” Maya ushered them around the couches and the coffee table and towards the door. “They’ve sounded the alarm.”  


They ran.  


Or at least, they ran and Raven struggled behind them. Abby at her side, a hand like an iron vice around her bicep, trying to yank and urge her forward, just a little faster, but there were people behind them, boots thundering, there were shouts and clanking of metal and the sun was too bright and Raven’s leg hurt and her back was beginning to ache, her head was pounding and sweat was dripping down her forehead and staining her shirt. Maya was struggling to keep up with Rashid and Pike at the front of the group, and Kane and Pike were keeping even pace just behind her, but Raven was dragging Abby behind, they were going to get caught.  


“Abby go,” Raven tried to shove her off her arm. “Get off, Clarke is at the beach, go!”  


Abby only responded to her with a withering glare, it told Raven all she needed to know, Abby was not leaving her side. Either Raven was coming with her, or they were both going down.  


Raven tried not to feel reassured, tried not to be grateful. She’d be the reason Clarke lost her mother, but she did. She didn’t want to be alone. God, she didn’t want to be alone.  


Kane looked back at them, fear evident in his eyes as he saw them struggling to follow, and the oncoming A.L.I.E. members behind them. His eyes widened even further upon seeing the people following them. “They’ve got-“  


Shots rang out.  


They were rapid fire, and they missed everyone in their group, but it was enough to terrify all seven of them. The ones at the front picked up the pace, they still had two hundred yards to go, and darted for the trees. More shots rang out and this time it grazed Raven’s bad leg, destroying one of the mechanisms in her brace, sending her to the ground.  


She rolled a few times before struggling back upwards, only to fall immediately. Abby had tripped over Raven and had to backtrack several steps to regain her spot at her side. Kane and Jaha looked back again, eyes falling on the two struggling women.  


“Abby, I’m good as dead, go.” Raven pushed Abby away. The guards, only five of them, but armed with AR-15’s were only fifty yards at most away from them. “Go to Clarke! It’ll be fine, go!”  


“No, Raven, I’m not leaving you, now come on I’ll help you, put your arm around my shoulders.”  


Abby didn’t give Raven much of a choice, as much as Raven struggled, she pulled her to her feet, and pushed her forward, half carrying her, half supporting her as they hobbled along, even slower than before. “Abby,”  


“Absolutely not,” Abby snapped, her glare almost more frightening than the men with guns behind them.  


They made it several yards before Raven was being hoisted into the arms of an unfamiliar man. “Hey! Lemme-“ But then they were pounding off towards the forest again at a much faster rate. Abby sprinting at their side. Raven looked up to see Kane’s jaw set, she could feel the strain in his body, but he didn’t slow down.  


More bullets rang out, sweeping the ground around them, but these men had clearly never fired guns before in their lives. Sweat poured off of them in the burning sun, Raven still struggled to blink against the light burning her retinae.  


It felt like an eternity before they finally burst through the foliage into the forest. They were on an uneven path, and Kane’s feet sunk into the rich, damp soil as they stumbled through broadleaves and vines.  


They were positive the guards with the guns were still following them, so when Maya stopped to grab the packs of supplies, they grabbed them without even breaking stride and continued tearing through the forest, veering off path as soon as it hooked away from the direction they were heading.  


As soon as they stopped for breath, however, they heard the firing of bullets raking the foliage around them and boots as they struggled through the forest after them. The foliage had slowed everyone down immensely.  


“Everyone go, I’ll hold them up.” Captain Jaha commanded.  


“Captain, let me.” Kane begged, Raven looked up at his face in terror. “Take her,” They all ducked another round of bullets. “I’ll go, they’ll need you to lead.”  


Jaha’s expression darkened. “I should have stopped this. The least I can do is help as many people survive as possible. Go, take care of them. I’ll catch up if I can.”  


Before anyone else could stop him, he was gone, heading towards the gunfire. Maya panted, chest heaving. “Let’s go-“  


“Wait.” Pike demanded. Stepping between her and the southeastern direction they were going. “You’re not coming with us.”  


“What are you talking about Pike?” Abby demanded, coming to stand at Maya’s side. “She helped us.”  


“How do we know she’s not the plan to execute us?” He pointedly glared at Abby. “Lead us to the ocean, take us out, and say it was some sort of botched escape plan huh? Or maybe lead us off then let us get lost and die in the jungle?”  


“Pike, that’s downright convoluted. Let her be.” Kane stepped forward, Raven still cradled in his arms.  


“I’m not a part of A.L.I.E. I never was!” Maya begged.  


Rashid stepped forward. “We don’t trust you. We can’t trust you. You aid the terrorists, so you must not be around us.”  


“What’re you-“ Raven was cut off by Pike and Rashid pointing their Tasers at Maya. “Put those away! She helped us!”  


Abby tackled Pike, or at least tried to, but Rashid had his Taser ready and Kane still held Raven. Maya fell to the ground, jolting and jerking.  


“Get off me, Abby, this was for our own protection. Now, let’s get going. Rashid, grab the compass.”  


Abby was pushed away, bumping into Kane before she managed to right herself once more. Rashid did as ordered, pulling a small compass from Maya’s pocket. They hitched their backpacks further onto their shoulders and led the charge through the forest. A fast clip, even for Abby, a healthy woman without any extra weight to carry. But it pushed them through the forest, leaving Maya stunned on the forest floor behind them.

 

Clarke hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep, and evidently neither did Lexa, because they woke awfully close to each other for two people who’d only met a couple of days ago. But Clarke only had a few seconds to recognize this before her attention was torn elsewhere.  


“Lexa,” She whispered, nudging the sleeping brunette’s shoulder. “Lexa, wake up.”  


Lexa jolted upright, sand following her head upwards and slowly trickling from her braids back to the ground. “Chit?”  


“Do you hear that?” Clarke hissed.  


It was faint, but they could hear popping in the distance. “Gunfire?” Lexa suggested groggily. “What else could it be? No one fires fireworks just after dawn.”  


Clarke nodded. “Who’s firing the guns and at what? Or whom?”  


Lexa furrowed her brow. “I don’t know.”  


Clarke, despite her worry, smirked. “You don’t wake very easily do you?”  


Lexa yawned and rubbed at her face, wincing at the sand grinding into her skin. “I used to, but college changed me.”  


Clarke huffed a quiet laugh. “We should get everyone else up. If there’s gunfire, then I’m sure the people on this island aren’t friendly.”  


Lexa nodded, standing and stretching her arms and shoulders. Clarke avoided looking at her directly, but she did peek a little out of the corner of her eyes. Not that she would admit that. “I’ll rouse everyone if you agree to get Anya.” Lexa attempted lamely.  


“Absolutely not, I’ve seen that woman in the mornings. She’s a menace. Your cousin, your problem.”  


Lexa groaned and slouched off, sending a private smile over her shoulder to Clarke.  


It had taken about an hour to get everyone up and situated on the raft, and ready to begin their march to the east. Every single person was grouchy and moody and ready to fight. Apparently sleeping on the beach was not conducive to actual rest after a long day of physical exertion. And tonight was looking to be no better.  


Only, Octavia, it seemed, was in a good mood. She had confided in Clarke excitedly that she had won the argument with her brother the previous night and that she would be scouting with Indra all day without any additional argument from her brother, but she was almost certain he would be grumbling about it later. Octavia didn’t care. She had some modicum of freedom from her overprotective brother and she was going to take it and milk it for all its worth. Even if it was at the expense of an entire plane of people, the survival of the rest of the group, and complete isolation on an island far, far away from anything inhabited.  


Clarke couldn’t help but soak in some of Octavia’s giddy energy. The girl was young, and the weight of the world hadn’t settled on her shoulders quite yet, and Clarke missed that innocence in herself. Even if her naivety was frustrating at times.  


Lexa organized a pulling rotation for both the raft and the two sleds, allowing for people to rest their arms and shoulders for hours at a time. All in all, they had six people on the raft, including Harper with the steering stick, and eighteen people walking. Lexa organized six additional people to pull the raft along with four pulling the sleds. With eight people not pulling anything, Anya too injured to pull, and Indra and Octavia acting as scouts, that meant only half of the group could filter off at a time. Though, Clarke supposed, it was better than never having a break at all.  


Clarke volunteered to pull one of the sleds for the first shift, leaving Lexa alone, walking with her cousin at the front of the group. Clarke unfortunately found herself paired with Bellamy for her shift. Luckily he seemed too preoccupied with his sister to care much about Clarke, but either way, it was only a matter of time before he recognized his partner.  


Indra and Octavia tore down the beach, running at full speed. It only took them a few minutes to completely disappear from view, but that only increased Bellamy’s grumbling, which did not help Clarke’s mood. The sand made it difficult to walk, and having Bellamy complaining about his sister ruined everything that was good about Clarke’s morning. It didn’t help that Clarke struggled to keep up her end of the pulling, Bellamy was built like an ox, and compared to him she was downright scrawny.  


To be fair, it’s not like Clarke did much exercising beyond the regular walk to and from work. But either way, without proper purchase in the sand, she wasn’t going to be able to keep up with Bellamy. “C’mon, let’s move over to the packed sand.” Bellamy grunted, pulling the sled towards the water.  


Once they reached the tide line walking became so much easier that Clarke’s mood lifted almost immediately. “That’s much easier.”  


“Hey ladies, it’s easier over here!” Bellamy called to the two soccer players struggling to tug their own sled. “The sand is packed over here.”  


The two girls nodded and made their way over the tide line and onto easier ground, almost immediately sighing in relief as the sled moved behind them smoothly. “Thanks, Bellamy.” One of the girls smiled. Clarke could hear the suggestion in her tone, and had she looked over, she knew she’d see Bellamy’s answering smirk and wink.  


Jasper had the first resting shift, and so he fell into step next to Bellamy. “How’s it going, Bell?” He smirked, rubbing his face, the beginnings of a scraggly beard appearing along his jaw.  


“Slowly,” Bellamy grunted. “You seen my sister?”  


Jasper shook his head. “Believe me, I would love to.” His grin made Clarke shiver silently.  


“Hey, that’s my sister you’re talking about!” Bellamy growled, shoving Jasper several feet closer to the water, his skinny, lanky body practically a rag doll compared to Bellamy’s muscles.  


“Sorry! Sorry, buddy, I was just joking you know.” He snickered. “Lighten up, would ya?”  


Bellamy grunted again, shrugging Jasper’s apology off as if it meant nothing. Though Clarke was absolutely certain that it didn’t. “Just shut up, Jasper.”  


“Whatever, you know, you really should be nicer.”  


“Oh yeah?” Bellamy glared down at the younger man. “Why’s that?”  


“Because eventually we will get off the island, and then all the sudden laws will actually apply to us again.” Jasper’s mocking tone took on a darker note. “I’m an excellent pickpocket Mr. Blake.”  


Bellamy’s jaw clenched. “What is it you think you’ve found?”  


“The reason you were on the plane in the first place.” Jasper shrugged. “Anyway, I’m just saying, I know what’s really going on and I have proof. So, lighten up maybe? I’ll have your back if you have mine, I mean, I know your sister-“  


“My sister is not involved in this.” Bellamy hissed, halting and grabbing Jasper’s arm in a grip so tight his knuckles turned white. “Now go, before I kill you myself.”  


Jasper laughed nervously. “Murphy knows too.”  


Bellamy blanched, dropping Jasper, he gaped in the direction of the other man. Murphy was walking alongside his new friend, Emori. They were deep in conversation quietly at the front of the group, snickering and occasionally shoving each other. “Murphy?”  


“Yeah, Murphy, and if you try to kill me, he’ll tell Octavia. And if you kill him, well, who do you think everyone will immediately suspect? Lexa hates you, and she knows you hate Murphy, especially with the way you pulled him off of me the other day. Everyone will back her when she comes for you with her army of broads. You’re toast. Only five bullets left right?” Jasper mocked.  


“Why are you telling me this now?” Bellamy growled.  


Jasper shrugged. “My mom always told me when I went to a new school, if I got picked on to pick the biggest kid on the playground and knock him on his ass. But, I found that if I picked the biggest kid and made him need me, then I got much more out of the whole situation. You’re the guy with the gun, and you need me. So! Allies?”  


Jasper held his hand out for Bellamy to take. Bellamy glared hard, and when he took Jasper’s hand, he squeezed so tightly the scrawny man nearly fell to his knees in pain. Jasper took the hint and scampered off to talk to Monty for the rest of the shift as soon as Bellamy let go.  


Clarke kept her mouth shut after he left. If Bellamy thought she knew anything, she wasn’t sure what he would do. Clearly it had to do with something he did before he boarded the plane, it involved Octavia, though she didn’t know about it, and it could get Bellamy into serious trouble with the law.  


Was Bellamy a criminal with a gun? He could cause some serious trouble among the passengers if that were so, and clearly it had already caused a rift between him and Jasper, which could result in cliques forming. They didn’t have the resources for alliances to form and feud between, they’d destroy themselves if they fought amongst each other.  


Finally at about midmorning, Lexa called for a temporary halt to rehydrate and rotate shifts. She took Bellamy’s place beside Clarke, and Bellamy shifted to the raft pulling team. Aden took the opportunity to jump from the raft into the water and wade out to walk with Lexa and Clarke. Anya joined them once the walking began again.  


Clarke had only looked back once to see their progress, and while it wasn’t very far, it was reassuring to know they were making progress at all. “The sand is really making it difficult to walk.” Aden chirped from beside Lexa.  


Lexa huffed a small laugh and Anya ruffled Aden’s hair. “It does, I should make you pull some.”  


Aden sighed. “I dunno, I’m not really that strong, I’d probably just fall behind.”  


“You’ll get bigger.” Lexa assured him gently. “Clarke, I hope your morning wasn’t too awful?”  


Clarke shrugged, looking around to find Murphy, Jasper, and Bellamy all tugging along at the raft. “Something’s up with Bellamy. I overheard Jasper pretty much blackmail him for protection and whatever other advantages. He claims Murphy knows too. Apparently Octavia doesn’t know. But it’s something big. It could be dangerous enough to split apart camp. I don’t want people taking sides and starting a feud.”  


“Heda,” Anya clipped.  


“Sha, Anya,” Lexa muttered. “We’ve affirmed a hierarchy of some kind now, but we have to set in place rules to make sure no one starts anything unintentionally. Once we start regularly hunting for food and everyone has time to make trouble, we’ll have to deal with it. Hopefully Bellamy plays into Jasper’s plans for a little longer so that we can focus on our priorities first. We need that gun away from him, and I can’t just confiscate it. Especially not me, these people are used to having a democracy. Being both the enforcing authority as well as the deciding authority, they’d perceive me as a tyrant, even if I were just, and overthrow me. Most likely violently.”  


“What about me?” Clarke suggested.  


“No, you’re the healer of the group. Most people look to you for comfort and safety, if you’ve all the sudden got a weapon, then that might undermine the image you’ve built up among the group. They trust you implicitly as the bringer of life. You ensure we stay alive.” Anya explained. “Especially with that stunt you pulled with me, you’re the miracle worker. With you on Lexa’s side, then you’ll have people backing her because you back her. Pairing your implied safety and her leadership is what makes this group follow the two of you so absolutely. Injuring your image will injure hers, and the group will become even more unstable.”  


Clarke huffed in annoyance. “This is way too complicated.”  


“This is politics.” Lexa muttered. “It’s not as easy as just picking someone and saying they’re in charge. Favor is difficult to gain, and even harder to keep.”  


Anya shrugged her good shoulder, grimacing at the slight stretch of her wound. “But no one else will step forward and keep us from killing each other or starving to death, so, it’s down to you two.”  


“I never would have thought of all that.” Aden spoke up from his silence. The three women turned to him, having forgotten he was there.  


Lexa recovered first, clearing her throat. “One day you’ll be able to, it takes practice and training to be able to think of all the possibilities of your actions. It’s not easy. But I trust you’ll keep what we’ve been talking about to yourself?”  


Aden looked up at her in wonder. “Absolutely. I promise, I get that not everyone can know everything. That’s why the president doesn’t tell everyone in America everything. Sometimes knowledge can be dangerous.”  


Lexa gave him a smile and ruffled his hair. “Good.”

Clarke estimated that they were about halfway to the southeastern tip of the island by the early afternoon. Incredible progress for a group of exhausted, wounded, hungry survivors of a plane crash. Lexa halted them a second time for a break and rotation. This time Clarke was given the opportunity to walk without pulling anything, and she found herself walking in pace next to Anya and Aden while Lexa battled the raft with the other unlucky five passengers stuck with raft duty.  


Bellamy slouched towards the back of the group, grumbling to himself. Clarke couldn’t help but pity him, blackmail was never fun, but at the same time, he made her nervous. He had been too willing to wave his gun around the other day when Jasper got out of hand with Murphy. He had thrown his weight around as if he had earned his leadership, but she wasn’t sure he was actually interested in helping the group at all.  


The day went faster now that Clarke didn’t have to pull extra weight. The ground was starting to slope upwards already and sand was yielding to grass more and more often as they reached their destination just before dusk.  


But of course, things couldn’t be that easy.  


Only a rustle of the brush to her side gave Clarke warning for what was to come, Indra and Octavia burst through the trees, running towards the group, well, hobbling, Octavia was clutching at her bloody side and Indra struggled to help her with her own injured arm.  


“Guns!” Indra shouted to the group. “They have guns mounted to the drones!”  


Clarke met them halfway, hands immediately going towards the younger girl. Octavia looked to be in worse shape, face already ashen and blood soaking the entire side of her body. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. Bellamy, your shirt.”  


Bellamy had materialized at her side almost immediately, fretting over his sister. Monroe jogged over to help Indra, much calmer than Bellamy at least. Indra’s wound was clean, the bullet had cut right through her bicep and as long as she kept it clean and wrapped she’d be fine. Octavia would need stitches. Stitches they didn’t really have.  


“Okay, Bellamy, I’m going to need you to keep the shirt on her wound, hold it down with a lot of pressure. She’s lost a lot of blood and I’m going to need to cauterize it. We can’t do that here where the drones can see us.” Clarke ordered. “Lexa, we have to get going, now!” She called out before Lexa could drop her rope and check on her injured teammate.  


Lexa gave her a curt nod and everyone surged forward once more, this time with renewed vigor, adrenaline helping to fuel them as they moved. Lexa split the group up as soon as the rocks began and using the raft became no longer viable. Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia, Anya, and Indra went ahead to take care of the newly wounded, while Lexa kept the rest behind to begin transporting the injured on crudely made stretchers.  


They decided to settle camp at the top of the cliffs, a small ways away from the edge but a good distance from the forest edge. Anya immediately set to work starting a fire to heat their designated cauterizing brand. Bellamy settled Octavia down, trying to wipe away the stray tears on his cheeks without anyone noticing. Octavia herself drifted in and out of consciousness. Indra stayed at her side, a silent guard dog waiting for her to recover.  


Clarke barked instructions out to Bellamy rapidly, he was too close to hysteria to leave him alone. Anya took the brand from the fire once it was hot enough, allowing the glowing red to cool back to its normal color, and Indra helped Bellamy to cut away the part of Octavia’s shirt around the wound.  


Clarke took a breath and pressed the brand to Octavia’s side, ignoring the sizzle of blood and the smell of burning flesh. Octavia seemed to come to consciousness enough to let out a scream, but it was cut short the moment she passed out from the pain. Releasing her breath, Clarke pulled away. She checked the wound, ensured that it would heal, and wrapped it once more. “Em ailonon ste nomonjoka.” Anya muttered from her spot next to the fire. “They’re evil.”  


Bellamy was silent at his sister’s side, knuckles white with the intensity that he gripped the bloodied shirt in his hand. “I’m going to kill them all. My sister, my responsibility.” He growled, so low Clarke almost missed it. “They’ll pay.”  


The four of them sat around Octavia, waiting as the sun set for the rest of the group to follow. Only four stretchers made it to the top of the cliff face. Lexa was the last to appear, face gray. “Two of them didn’t make it. We don’t know if it was infection or heatstroke. But they didn’t make it.” She announced, voice trembling with either anger or grief or both. “Tomorrow, we make a real camp here while Monty builds a radio or something to signal help with. Tris, a small group, and I will go into the forest to scout and hunt for the group. We’re safer here, away from the crash site.”  


The group seemed to agree in their exhausted state without protest for perhaps the first time since the plane crashed. Monroe ensured that everyone drank plenty of water before going to bed, Anya struggled with a particularly scratchy patch of grass near her face, and Aden was out in seconds, sprawled out next to his mother, taking up an incredible amount of space for someone so small. Bellamy remained upright, stiff and watching over his sister, while Indra remained further away but just as alert and tense as they watched the young girl sleep restlessly.  


Lexa collapsed to the ground with a half-hearted grunt, and Clarke didn’t think twice about curling up next to her. Both of them fell unconscious before the sun managed to fall completely beneath the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here, is the behemoth. This was a monster lemme just say. Two big, really important things happened here, and I'm excited about all of the implications and complications. Anyway, I'm exhausted, it's 130 in the morning here, but such sacrifices need to be made for the sake of fandom amiright?  
> Translations:  
> Em Ailonon ste nomonjoka- These/those islanders are motherfuckers


	10. Chapter 10

Clarke came to consciousness slowly, the cacophony of crickets and birds and buzzing filled her ears first, before the feeling of grass beneath her registered in her mind. She snuffled quietly, wrinkling her nose at the scent invading her nose. It was simultaneously sweet and acrid, and she couldn’t tell if that was her or something else, but frankly, she was comfortable and tired and she wasn’t quite ready to open her eyes. She was warm and even if the smell left a lot to be desired, she would be quite content dozing right here for a little longer.  


And then a huff of breath sounded in her ear.  


She startled awake, turning her head to see Lexa, curled in on herself, nose resting against the back of Clarke’s neck. Her hands were kept close to her face, knees up as if to protect her body. She slept peacefully, though every fifth breath she let out a quiet huff through her nose. Clarke didn’t really remember how they came to be in this position. She remembered curling up next to Lexa the previous night, but their positions had been reversed.  


Clarke sighed and turned over to face her, smiling slightly at Lexa’s face, every now and then her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something awful, and Clarke could relate. Between the two of them, they smelled worse than the men’s locker room at her old high school.  


Don’t ask her how she knew that.  


“Lexa,” She whispered, reaching a hand up to grab Lexa’s hand. “Lexa, wake up, you smell.”  


Lexa grunted, her eyebrows knitting together as she balanced between sleep and consciousness. “So do you.” She grumbled, her words almost too slurred for Clarke to understand.  


“That’s rude.”  


“So are you.” Lexa mumbled, unfurling herself and stretching, eyes still closed. A soft sigh, and her eyes blinked open, squinting at the sunlight stretching across the sky from its source at the horizon. “Good morning.”  


Clarke grinned. “Good morning. Feeling rested?”  


Lexa grunted, throwing her arm over her eyes. “No.”  


“Well, another long day ahead.”  


“We’ll get food today, that’ll help. I’m sure weight has started to melt off of us by now. But food is not going to be at a surplus. After today we need to switch to breakfasts rather than dinners.” Lexa explained quietly.  


“I know,” Clarke’s smile slid from her face. “With so much physical exertion during the days, we need to take in calories to burn off rather than allow our bodies to burn the fat we have now. It’ll just deteriorate and we won’t last long out here at all.”  


“You’ll have to stay here and keep everyone in line and working.” Lexa warned.  


Clarke punched her shoulder playfully. “I know, I’ve got patients to work with right now. Anya and Octavia both have burn wounds now that can get infected. I’ll have Monroe work on physical therapy with Harper. But it’s been awhile since anyone has cleaned and changed everyone’s bandages. The salt water could do some serious damage to some of the lacerations on the other three so I’m going to need to thoroughly rinse everyone with fresh water.”  


“I’ll have Indra, Emori, and Murphy help you with that. It’ll keep Murphy away from Bellamy, and maybe you can get some information out of him about what Bellamy did before the crash.”  


Clarke nodded and pulled herself to her feet, stretching with a groan. She looked towards Octavia, she was still pale, and Bellamy sat like a hulking statue at her side. “We need to talk to Indra about what happened to her and Octavia. She said something about guns mounted to the drones.”  


Lexa followed Clarke as she approached the siblings. “Hey Bellamy,” Clarke gave a hesitant smile. Bellamy didn’t respond. “I assume nothing happened over night? Nothing to be concerned with? I’m just going to check on her wound and make sure everything is okay. We all kind of crashed last night.”  


Clarke approached slowly, Bellamy hadn’t moved since she last saw him, and she wasn’t sure if he would respond violently to anyone touching his sister. Lexa passed them quietly, approaching Indra where she dozed, sitting upright, face propped against her fist.  


Clarke reached Octavia’s side and peeled the bandage away, immediately wincing at the fluids leaking from the wound. “Well, no blood, that’s good.” Clarke attempted to be cheerful.  


Bellamy finally reacted to her faux hopefulness. “But?” He snapped, clearly on edge. “What’s wrong with her?”  


“Well, nothing unexpected.” Clarke shrugged one of her shoulders. “The bullet only grazed her side, don’t get me wrong it’s a nasty wound, but it’s minor compared to what it could have been. Half an inch to the left and she would have never made it out of the jungle. Luckily it hit her where it did. But she lost a lot of blood. We can’t be certain how much she lost before she got to us, but I’m sure it was plenty to knock her off her feet for a few days. She’s small you know?” Clarke explained. “That kind of blood loss is dangerous. She’s going to be highly anemic for a few days, she’s going to need to eat a lot of meat and rest plenty for the next few days. She’s going to be very tired, so don’t be concerned if she sleeps a lot.”  


Bellamy took a shaky breath. “Will she be okay?”  


Clarke smiled reassuringly. “As long as we keep infection at bay, she’ll recover. She’s strong, she’ll make it. Just have to keep this clean.”  


Bellamy nodded, running his hand through his filthy locks of curly hair, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have let her go.”  


“Clarke,” Lexa called from a few feet over. “This isn’t good.”  


Bellamy shook his head. “You’re the reason she’s like this. You did this.” He growled at Lexa, his brown eyes bloodshot and wide. His whole figure tensed like a bow string ready to snap. “You’ve killed my sister!”  


Lexa levelled an unflinching glare at him. “I did nothing. It could have been all of us had they not run into the drones. We could be dead on the beach down there. But we’re not. Your sister was strong and brave. She’s a hero.”  


Bellamy’s lip quivered, his head shaking faster. “It shouldn’t have been her.”  


Lexa’s glare softened. “Clarke says she will recover. It was unfortunate, but it does not reflect badly on you as her brother and protector. You should stay at her side. It will comfort her to see a familiar face when she wakes up.”  


Bellamy clenched his fists, rubbing his jaw, tears leaking down his face. “I’m sorry.” He whimpered, moving to brush the hair from his sister’s face. Clarke couldn’t tell who he was talking to, but she figured it would be best to leave him alone.  


“Try to get some rest, Bellamy.” Clarke sighed, patting his shoulder as she stood to join Lexa and Indra’s conversation. “So it’s true?”  


“The guns are automatic rifles.” Lexa reported. “They’re mounted to the drones. Luckily, they only fire accurately when they can see, and the broadleaves provide decent coverage from the camera.”  


“The drones stopped following us a good distance from the shore line. I think their range ends just short of the forest edge.” Indra explained tiredly.  


“You’ll have to be very careful hunting, Lexa.” Clarke warned, looking to the brunette crouched next to her. “If they find you and kill you, we’re all fucked. You’re kind of running this whole thing.”  


Lexa waved her off. “I’m replaceable, anybody can take charge, and in fact they’ll probably look to you if I were to die.”  


Clarke gaped down at the girl. “Are you serious?”  


Lexa shrugged. “My spirit will go on. I’ll just be reborn. I’m not worried about any of that, but we do need to get food. Tris and I are going to be setting up various traps and snares for the boar around here, and Anya is going to be working on putting together a couple of bows and some arrows.”  


Indra leaned forward. “What do we do about the drones if we do run into them? We can’t necessarily outrun them and if we hide then they can just spray the foliage with bullets. A broadleaf can block a camera but not a gun.”  


Lexa furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. “A rock does enough damage to the blades that it’ll knock them out of the air. But that gun can still fire. We’ll work on it when we can, but for now we should focus on the necessities. We’re out of range here, otherwise that drone would have come out here and showered us, but we won’t be alive for very long if we don’t eat something. Clarke, nobody goes into the forest for any reason while I’m gone. We have enough water for today, but we’ll worry about that when we need to. Indra, you need rest, you’ve been up all night so get some sleep.” Lexa ordered, rubbing her temples with a frustrated sigh. “I’ll get Tris and a couple of the girls. I know they can run and run fast if need be.”  


“Lexa!” Bellamy called from where he sat.  


Clarke braced herself for trouble. “Yes, Bellamy?” Lexa asked patiently.  


Bellamy pulled his gun from its holster and held the handle to her. “Five bullets left, pull the safety, squeeze, don’t pull.”  


Lexa hesitated. “Bellamy-“  


“It’s safer with you.” He whispered darkly. “Take it, shoot those things back. We won’t have to worry about me doing anything stupid, and-“ Bellamy sighed. “And you can protect yourself and the others. Octavia is going to need meat. It’s best if you come back alive.”  


Clarke gaped. This new Bellamy, the desperately trying to redeem himself Bellamy, simply caught her off guard. Lexa reached forward, taking the gun and grasping Bellamy’s hand with her other hand. “Thank you. We’ll take care of her. We’re all on the same team.”  


Bellamy nodded, laying on his side and watching his sister sleep.  


Lexa turned to Clarke. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

 

The second day in the forest was the hardest. Raven swore the mosquitos were the size of hummingbirds, and Kane’s arms were too sore and tired to carry her the second day, so instead she was carried piggyback style on Rashid’s back.  


Raven hated these men. They had left Maya to die, had been willing to let her fall behind and die as well. Abby and Kane spent the second day arguing with Pike as they walked, the three of them vying for leadership while Rashid silently followed Pike’s every move.  


It was hot and muggy in the forest. Raven spent most of the time dozing against Rashid’s shoulder, until she noticed the noise. “Hey, do you hear that?”  


“What?”  


“Voices, there are voices.” Raven slurred. But by the others had quieted, the voices stopped.  


“She’s getting delirious we need to get more water, we’re almost out-“  


A woman seemed to materialize out of the leaves, crashing a gun handle into the base of Pike’s skull, immediately dropping him unconscious. She dropped to a crouch and swept a leg in an attempt to catch Kane off balance, but it didn’t quite work, she hooked her shin around the back of his knee and yanked, dropping him backwards and sprawling into the foliage of the forest floor. She sprung up again, pointing the gun in her hand straight between Abby’s eyes. All before Raven could even register what was happening.  


“Don’t move.” She ordered, her voice made of iron. This girl was used to command.  


And she was a fucking ninja.  


“Surround them.” She snapped to no one in particular.  


Then others stepped through the leaves, brandishing knives and spears made of shards of scrap metal, one had a full bow and arrow set, tipped with folded aluminum. Wouldn’t do much against a hard surface, her arrow tips wouldn’t survive hitting a tree, the aluminum would crumple, but in the soft flesh of her throat? Raven wouldn’t take the chance.  


The girl nodded her head to Raven. “Why is she being carried? Who are you all and what are you doing out here?” She demanded. Raven caught just the slightest hint of an accent, maybe she was bilingual, but the way she moved? Not normal.  


“I’m Dr. Abby Griffin, my daughter is at the beach, Clarke?” The girl tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. Abby continued. “We’re survivors of the plane crash, looking for the other group. We’re all that’s left. This is Kane, the copilot, and this is Raven, Rashid, and that right there is Pike. Please, I just want to get to my daughter.”  


The girl lowered her gun. “My name is Lexa. Camp has been moved away from the beach. We went to the cliffs. The forests are filled with drones mounted with assault rifles. This is a hunting party. Clarke is back at camp, keeping everything in line.”  


Abby sighed in relief. “She’s not hurt?”  


Lexa shook her head. “No.” She turned to the others surrounding Raven and her group, nodded once, and all of the weapons dropped from their faces. “Tris, take them back to camp, I’ll take over the bow. You take the gun and keep them safe. Clarke has some visitors. We’re not coming back without that boar.”  


The girl with the bow, Tris, immediately stepped forward, exchanged weapons, and silently gestured for them to follow her. “Ah, Heda?”  


Lexa turned. “Sha?”  


“Chit osir dula du disha op?” Tris nudged Pike’s ribs with her toe.  


Lexa looked down at him and sighed. “Abby, Kane, Monroe, carry him.”  


Abby looked taken aback at suddenly being told what to do with her own people, but then again, Lexa held the weapons in her hands. Raven wouldn’t question it, and if Abby were half as smart as her, she’d submit too.  


So they began their trek through the forest once again. Raven was sweating even without exerting herself and she could feel the sweat pooling between her front and Rashid’s back. It made her gag.  


They could smell the ocean now. Raven had never loved the smell of salt water more. For the first time since the plane fell from the sky, Raven felt alive.  


Tris huffed, tugging the gun she held tightly in her hand into the belt at her waist. “We should be out of range by now.”  


Monroe grunted. “If that’s so, we should take a break. The guy’s heavy.”  


Tris nodded once. “As good a place as any to stop and rest. Though we need to get those two to Clarke. Lex probably gave that one a concussion.”  


Abby straightened. “I’m a doctor. Raven’s injury isn’t new. But we’ll see if we can wake Pike up now that we’re not in immediate danger.”  


Monroe looked to Tris, raised an eyebrow, and with the slightest tilt of her head, bent to help Abby tend to Pike. Abby was no longer in charge here, and Raven wasn’t sure how she felt about that.  


Rashid slowly crouched to let Raven slide off his back. Despite the fact that he had helped hurt Maya, Raven was grateful he was willing to carry her all day. She could have been left for dead just like Maya, but instead Rashid volunteered himself. She didn’t forgive him, but Raven would tolerate him.  


Pike, on the other hand, should have died back at the compound.  


Pike slowly regained consciousness, complaining of a headache, nausea, and blurry vision. Even Raven knew those were the classic symptoms of a concussion, but before he could struggle to his feet, the telltale popping of a gun firing nearby filled them all with adrenaline.  


Pike sprung to his feet, stumbling into Tris, who shoved him roughly to the side, and Rashid rushed to scoop Raven up into his arms. “Let’s get going it’s only another half mile or so.” Tris barked, grabbing the back of Monroe’s collar and hauling her upright. Abby scrambled to follow them as Kane ushered Pike in the right direction, catching him when he tripped and groaning every time he had to lift up Pike’s weight.  


The gunshots only got louder, and there were a series of shrieks that abruptly ended after another round of bullets. Raven’s heart pounded as she clung to Rashid and prayed they’d make it to the beach.  


It felt like an eternity before they burst through the tree line and into tall grass growing out of the sand and rocks littering the beach before the ground dropped off into a steep cliff that met the water at a nearly vertical angle.  


They were met with a flurry of movement. Two blonde women rushed to them, one limping and the other clutching her arm close to her chest. The one with the bad arm clutched Tris and spoke harshly in another language. Tris nodded and shook her head in time to her questions before responding in rapid fire harsh syllables and short vowels. The girl with the limp, after a moment, Raven recognized as Clarke.  


She was filthy and covered in blood and her expression was stern, though her fear was evident. “R-Raven? Mom?” She covered her mouth with a blood-crusted, muddy hand. “You’re alive? How-“  


“It’s a long story.” Abby murmured, bringing her daughter into her arms and squeezing tight. Rashid stumbled towards a group of injured people and set Raven down next to them before wandering off to Pike’s side again.  


Clarke, as soon as she left her mother’s arms, rushed to Raven, dropping to her knees in the sand and flinging her arms around Raven’s neck. “I thought you guys were dead. I can’t believe you’re okay!”  


Clarke leaned back, smiling brightly at Raven, before her smile dimmed again. “Where’s Lexa? What happened? Why does Tris have the gun?”  


Raven opened her mouth and then snapped it shut again. “I don’t know. They found us, and then we split off to come here, we were resting when the gun fired-“  


“We heard it out here.” Clarke nodded. “But it’s stopped now. Maybe they managed to get away?”  


Raven shrugged. “Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. I'm a disaster. So sorry. I just have no excuses.  
> Translations:  
> "Chit osir dula du disha op"- approximately "What do we do with him?"


	11. Chapter 11

The camp was in a sort of alert or shut down as soon as the gunfire went off. Clarke had herded everyone to sit down and take shelter among the rocks and what flimsy shelter structures they had already managed to erect. They were out of range of the drones, they were sure of that by the new information given to them by Abby and Raven.  


They waited an hour after the last shots rang out before Anya stood and stormed about the camp, clutching her arm close to her chest and using her other hand to ready herself for a hike. “Anya, you don’t honestly think you’re going out there alone do you?” Clarke nagged, following the other woman closely. “You’ll get your wound infected, it’s a miracle it isn’t already!”  


Anya whipped around to stare down at the younger blonde with a fierce glare. “Lexa is out there, probably shot, probably dying, and if you try to stop me, you’ll be in the same damn boat.” She snarled viciously.  


Clarke backed off immediately, hands raising in a placating gesture. “Anya, it’s not smart to go running out there after her, especially not in your health.”  


Anya grabbed the collar of Clarke’s shirt, pulling her forward roughly. “You don’t know me or Lexa, you don’t know skrish. I don’t care who you think you are, but I am going after her and I’m going to bring her back.”  


Clarke set her jaw and yanked Anya’s shoulder forward, jutting her hip out and cocking an eyebrow when Anya screamed in pain and dropped to the ground. “Tell me again how I don’t know ‘skrish’?”  


“Clarke!” Bellamy called, staring hard at the edge of the forest. “Someone’s out there!” He stumbled to his feet, more lucid after a long nap than he was earlier that morning.  


Bellamy disappeared into the tree line for a few moments. When he returned, he supported one limping girl and led an exhausted, and blood covered Lexa through the foliage. Clarke and Abby simultaneously rushed forward to intercept the two girls, and Anya followed close behind, grunting from the left over ache in her chest from Clarke’s cruel and yet successful attempt at proving a point.  


Anya yanked Clarke away from Lexa as she tried to get Lexa to answer her questions. The girl was too shell shocked to say anything of any substance. Mostly, short ramblings in Trigedasleng that, based off of Anya’s reaction, made little sense. “Lexa, yu ste ogud?”  


Lexa muttered a bit more before she finally focused on Anya’s face. “Sha.”  


“Yu ste ogud?”  


“Sha, Anya.”  


Anya nodded, bringing Lexa closer to her and wrapping the younger woman in an awkward, grimacing hug. It was too stiff to be comfortable, and Clarke had to admit it was amusing to witness, but once their moment was over she went back to fretting over Lexa while Abby handled the wounded girl next to her. The girl had been shot in the leg, lucky, considering, but Lexa was absolutely drenched in blood.  


“Lexa,” Clarke murmured. “What happened?”  


Lexa blinked slowly at the blonde. “I-“ Clarke waited patiently as Lexa shook the bleariness from her eyes. “There was a drone. A gun, it was chaos. We scattered, but none of them made it very far.” Lexa lifted her hands to reveal blood covering her arms up to her elbows. “We ran.”  


Clarke nodded quietly. “Okay, are you hurt?” Lexa shook her head. “Go get washed up. We’ll take care of her.” Lexa nodded and mechanically pushed by Anya and stumbled down the rocks down to the beach to take a dip in the salt water.

 

Raven wasn't used to being bossed around by a girl not much older than herself. Lexa couldn’t be much older than twenty one, but Raven spent most of her time with mechanics, young men her age and middle aged men with seasoned, tough hands. Raven was used to experience borne authority, not some girl with an attractive and rather mean cousin giving orders with no experience to back her.  


Clarke insisted that Abby check on Anya’s wound, and Raven ended up getting an up close and personal view of the nasty wound in her chest and frankly it grossed her out. Abby confirmed what Raven already knew, Anya was lucky to be alive.  


Abby explained to Clarke that Anya needed a bit of dead skin removed or she was in even more danger of getting infected, and Raven found herself unable to turn her head away. She was morbidly fascinated with the way Anya’s skin just fell away from her chest. It freaked her out.  


Raven quickly came into contact with the only person with half a brain on the entire damn island. Monty, he had introduced himself, had been attempting to build a radio, but if there was anything Raven could do, it was build things. So she batted her eyelashes and convinced him to take the afternoon off and help her repair her brace on her leg, and they would get working on a working radio the next day.  


It was midafternoon by the time Lexa wandered up the cliff side and into camp. It had been entirely set up, by now, four or five makeshift huts were circled around a giant bonfire in the center, a good distance from the cliff drop off to the south and east sides of the camp.  


They sat around the bonfire, though there was really no reason to, instead of bringing back wild boar, Lexa lost four people and barely made it back alive. She sat in dark silence next to Clarke and Raven immediately took to carefully analyzing their every interaction. Clarke quietly spoke to the brunette while Lexa stared into red coals of the fire. They weren’t loud enough for Raven to hear, but she got the gist. “It wasn’t your fault, blah, blah, blah.”  


And it wasn’t. Raven certainly wouldn’t blame the loss of Lexa’s friends on the only survivors, but what good is it to blame yourself anyway? It’s not like she could have just stopped the bullets like some crazy next generation Magneto. Survivor’s remorse, she guesses.  


Finally, Clarke managed to get Lexa to nod and look up to everyone around the fire. Lexa glanced once more to Clarke before she cleared her throat and straightened. “We need to talk about our next course of action.” Lexa called out, immediately gathering a crowd. “We lost four of our people today to the drones. We need a way to dispose of them so that we can go into the forest and get food. It’s too dangerous not to have a way to defend ourselves.”  


Clarke spoke next. “Raven and Monty are going to work on a radio to contact people off the island to help.”  


“We have to be careful.” Raven warned her. “The wrong frequency and we could accidentally tell A.L.I.E. our exact position and what we’re trying to do.”  


“A.L.I.E?” Lexa furrowed her brows. “That’s who’s trying to kill us?”  


Abby nodded. “The people on this island are members of A.L.I.E. We stumbled upon their island when the plane crashed and now they want us dead.”  


“It wasn’t an accident.” Kane spoke up, head lifting from where he had buried his hands in his hair. “The other copilot, a woman named Diana Sydney, she sabotaged the plane’s navigational system. Probably the black boxes too. It was pure chance we survived, but after she knocked out Thelonious and before I had completely gone under, she sent a message to someone over the radio, declaring her allegiance to A.L.I.E. Dante Wallace owns the island. He obviously doesn’t want us to get off the island and tell the authorities about his terrorist activities.”  


The resounding silence that followed nearly deafened Raven. If it weren’t for the crackling of the fire or the chirping of the forest or the crashing of the waves, she would have assumed she had gone deaf. No one even dared to breathe.  


“The crash wasn’t an accident?” Anya asked incredulously.  


Kane shook his head, rubbing the stubble along his jaw. “I should have done something. I don’t know, I should have fought harder, done more.”  


Abby reached over, gently resting a hand on his forearm. “She caught you by surprise, hurt you, there was nothing you could have done.”  


Kane shook his head, shrinking in on himself. Raven glanced around the circle of people. “So, Monty and I are doing the radio stuff, what is everyone else up to?”  


Lexa sighed and leaned forward. “We have to go back there, we have to get food. The traps should be safe enough to visit. We set a lot of them before- you know. We can check the traps tomorrow morning before dawn and be back in time to cook up breakfast. Then back into the forest to ensure breakfast tomorrow.”  


“What if we tried fishing?” Bellamy suggested from his spot near a bleary eyed, but thankfully conscious Octavia. “Surrounded by water, we might as well.”  


“We have the raft still, tie it up to one of the rocks and paddle out as far as possible and fish for a little while. Come back and make some sushi.” Emori suggested, bumping Murphy’s shoulder playfully, making the usually sour young man smile.  


Lexa nodded. “Bellamy, you lead the group with fishing then. Abby, Clarke, Monroe, you’ll make sure the injured stay alive, Harper can help with any less physical tasks like boiling water. Tris and I will go into the forest to check the traps. A group of three or four will skirt along the cliffs to the waterfall the river feeds into. That’s how we’ll collect the drinking water from now on. I’m not risking anyone else in the forest. I’m sure no one objects to that.” Lexa paused. “That’s what I thought. Raven, Monty, will you need anyone else to help with building the radio?”  


Raven and Monty made eye contact before turning back to Lexa and shaking their heads simultaneously. “We’re good, Captain.” Raven smirked.  


“Very well. Bellamy, your group will have Emori, Murphy, Rashid, and Pike. Emori works as a lifeguard part time so she should definitely be involved with that group. Just in case. Miller, Jasper, Kane, Aden, and your mom will go and fetch water for camp. The injured will stay and rest.” Lexa doled out responsibilities as if she were born for it. Raven thought she felt a little too at home giving out orders. "No one is left without a task and no one is given too much to do. Fair?” When no one objected, Lexa nodded once. “I’ll take first watch. Bellamy? You up to take the next shift or have you still not gotten any sleep?” Bellamy nodded eagerly. “Alright, you’ll take second watch and when your shift is over, wake Indra. We’ll leave the new comers out of night watch for tonight, they’ve had a long couple of days. They need the rest.”  


Everyone nodded in agreement. Gradually, as the sun began to set, people divided up into the shoddy huts and turned in for the night. Leaving Raven, Clarke, Lexa, Anya, and Abby around the bonfire in silence. “So,” Raven attempted to break up some of the quiet. “Seen any good movies lately?”  


“Yeah, it’s called My Life, it’s a horror.” Anya snarked back.  


“I like to think my life would be turned into a series, picked up by Netflix and made into a dramedy. And gay.” Raven smirked. “Of course, it’d be gay, they’re not allowed to say the word ‘bisexual’ right Clarkey?”  


Abby was smiling, staring at the fire, and Clarke shook with mirth. Even Lexa seemed to relax at the lightened atmosphere. “My biography would be dark and gritty.” Clarke smirked.  


“You mean ‘ER’?” Lexa muttered. Clarke nudged her ribs with her elbow.  


“You know, I do more than just ride in an ambulance and provide CPR. I have a life.”  


Raven guffawed. “No you don’t!”  


“I paint!”  


“That doesn’t count!” Raven teased. “I’m pretty sure I’m the only one you talk to aside from your direct coworkers. And your mother.”  


Abby snorted. “She’s got you there, Clarke.”  


“A shut in, huh?” Anya grinned. “You and Lexa were made for each other, then.”  


Lexa scoffed. “At least I play sports.”  


Anya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, all you do is study and soccer.”  


“Not true and you know it.” Lexa picked up a handful of sand and tossed it at Anya.  


Anya spluttered and spat, chuckling and shoving at Lexa’s shoulders. “Beja, Heda, beja, ai gonplei ste odon!” She simpered, feigning pain.  


Lexa smirked. “You’re fine, Anya. What did you always say to me? Walk it off.”  


Clarke grinned at the two. Raven watched from afar. It seemed Clarke had gotten attached to these two women in the last several days of abandonment on the island.  


Raven would have to hold in whatever snarky comments she had for tomorrow when she watched Clarke curl up next to Lexa as they settled in for the night. Lexa wouldn’t sleep for several hours, she had watch, but Clarke still chose to sleep closer to this near stranger than near her family? Oh yes, Raven would be teasing her much more tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than normal, but this was more a transitional chapter. Shit's about to go down my friends. Anyway, I'd love to discuss whatever with yall, so drop a comment yeah?


	12. Chapter 12

Just after wishing Lexa luck as she ventured back into the forest, Clarke took to tending to the injured. “Oh,” Clarke hissed as she lifted the makeshift bandage from the woman’s side. This was the woman that had escaped the drone with Lexa the previous day, and Clarke desperately wanted her to survive, for Lexa’s sake.  


“What-“ The woman gasped. “What’s wrong?”  


Clarke lifted her eyes to the woman’s pale and sweaty face guiltily. “It looks like it could be infected. Mom!” Clarke called to the surgeon. Abby had been helping Harper with her hips, she would probably be able to walk with a crutch within the next few days. The doctor snapped up when she heard her daughter and immediately rushed towards her.  


“Oh,” Abby hissed, bending down to better inspect the cut. “That’s blood poisoning.”  


Clarke pulled her mother away from the woman and out of earshot. “What do we do? We don’t have any antibiotics.” Clarke whispered. “She’s going to die.”  


“We can’t amputate, it’s on her side.”  


“Only a matter of time before it reaches her heart.” Clarke sighed.  


“There’s nothing we can do, Clarke.” Abby gripped her daughter’s shoulder tightly. “She’s going to die.”  


Clarke ran a hand through her filthy hair. “There has to be something.”  


Abby grabbed Clarke’s wrist as she lowered it from her head. “We’re not exactly in a sterile environment Clarke.” She said giving Clarke a stern look. “Infections happen when we’re all filthy.”  


Clarke pulled her hand away guiltily. “Mom, I really did try.”  


Abby shook her head. “You couldn’t help it. We can’t always save everyone.”  


Clarke withdrew further and stepped away, walking up to the woman to explain the situation. The way the woman begged, begged for Clarke to help her. But there was nothing to do. The woman’s face crumpled, tears welling and streaming down her face.  


“Please, please you can’t just leave me to die!”  


“No, you won’t be alone. I’m right here, but-“ Clarke’s voice cracked. “The infection is going to kill you unless we get you to a hospital immediately. We don’t have any antibiotics.”  


The woman sobbed. Her body had already been wrecked by the shivering and fever and sweating, but now she had added emotional turmoil to the list of things going wrong. Clarke watched the woman break in front of her. “I have a niece.” She whispered as she finally settled. “She’s five. I was going to take her to Disney.” She stared longingly at the sky. But instead my own body is going to kill me.”  


Clarke looked away from the woman. “I have to- uh. I have to see to Anya’s wound. Hopefully we can prevent anymore infection.”  


The woman began sobbing anew as Clarke scrambled away, admonishing herself for her own cowardice along the way.

Lexa and Tris returned with enough small animals to feed camp breakfast for the day, but there were no leftovers. Lexa allowed Clarke to watch her clean and stretch the hides of the carcasses, instead of tend to the injured. There were only six injured survivors. One of them doomed to die. Monroe and Harper sat with her, chatting, crying, comforting her. Raven was hobbling along just fine, though she and Monty sat in the shade taking apart and putting together laptops and cellphones and the drone that Lexa had taken down. Indra sat with Octavia, scowling at her lack of assignment, but helping the girl whenever she needed it. Abby spent most of her time taking care of them, while Anya meandered about camp griping and generally being a pain, but her wound was healing fast and well.  


Clarke found that she had little to do, so she watched Lexa closely, anything to distract herself from the dying woman under her watch.  


“And you’re sure there’s nothing you can do?” Lexa murmured after Clarke explained her dilemma quietly.  


“No,”  


“There was a natural remedy our tribe taught us using a poultice, but we don’t have the same plants and such here.” Lexa shrugged a shoulder. “A lot of the natural things my cousins and I know won’t help in a tropical region.”  


Clarke nodded quietly, slumping her shoulders. “I’m not used to forcing myself to give up.”  


“Clarke,” Lexa clicked the K in her name. “You’re not giving up. If there’s nothing you can do, then there’s nothing to try. You have to remember that this wasn’t your fault. You did what you could with what you had available to you. It just wasn’t enough this time.” Lexa offered a half smile. “But you know who you did save? Anya, Octavia, Indra, you healed Harper, helped Aden. You’ve done incredible things with so little. You performed a miracle in saving Anya. That was you. We’ve lost a lot of people in the last week. But none of that was because of you. In fact, we have so many survivors because of you.”  


Clarke nodded. “Did you know her?”  


Lexa shook her head. “She wasn’t on my team, and I didn’t really ask when we were running through the forest.”  


Clarke sighed. “I’m afraid to ask. Would it be cowardly not to?”  


Lexa furrowed her brow and looked away. “I don’t know.”  


Clarke shifted uncomfortably. “Sometimes, in the ambulance, I don’t ever find out their names. I haven’t decided if it makes things worse or better.”  


“Maybe there is no way to avoid it.” Lexa sighed. “I’m sorry.”  


Clarke shook her head and stepped forward, wrapping Lexa into a hug that caught the brunette entirely off guard. After a second or two, Clarke felt Lexa relax and hug her back gently. Eventually, Clarke stepped back and ran a hand through her hair to hide her awkwardness. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak but Lexa beat her to it.  


“I should get going. Tris and I are going to try and hunt again today. With fewer people it’ll be easier, but we’re going to stay out of the drone range as much as possible. I’m sure there are drones patrolling the forest perimeter now.” Lexa smiled nervously. “Either way, we need the food, and until we can find out if fishing is a feasible solution, it’s into the forest we go.”  


Clarke’s face fell. “Be careful, Lexa. We need you, remember?”  


Lexa sent her a lopsided smile and walked by her towards Tris. “Hey Clarke, since your mother and Monroe have nursing down, you mind going with Bellamy fishing? I don’t want him drowning Murphy.”  


Clarke smiled. “Yeah, I’ll go with them.”

As it turned out, Murphy was a natural fisherman. He was responsible for most of the pile of fish in the center of the raft. Bellamy spent most of his time grumbling and struggling to recast his line over and over. Clarke sat between Bellamy and a shirtless Murphy and struggled not to betray her discomfort. Rashid and Pike sat on the other side of the raft with Emori to keep the balance, whispering and muttering to each other while they tugged their makeshift fishing poles.  


Bellamy grunted as he reeled in nothing once more. “So, Murphy.”  


Murphy glared over at Bellamy. “What d’you want Fed?”  


“I was wondering just when you and Jasper became such good pals.” Bellamy glanced over at Clarke. “You heard him didn’t you? Said you were allies.”  


Murphy scoffed. “Bullshit. I haven’t talked to that jackass since he punched me in the face the first morning.”  


Bellamy laughed sardonically. “Listen to me, Murphy, and listen to me carefully. I don’t care what shit-for-brains told you he would do, but you’re going to tell me where my bag is.”  


“Probably strewn about the debris like the rest of our shit.” Murphy snarled.  


“No, not my luggage. The bag that Jasper took out of my luggage. Where did he put it?” Bellamy growled, sparing a warning glance to Clarke. “Tell me where it is, Murphy, or so help me god I’ll-“  


“You’ll what?” Murphy taunted. “I don’t know anything about your drugs.”  


Bellamy lunged across Clarke’s lap, grabbed Murphy’s hair and slammed his fist into the other man’s face. Both of them plunged into the water. Clarke just barely managed to avoid going with them, but immediately she and Emori scrambled to rebalance the raft and keep from losing their catch.  


“Bellamy! Murphy!” Clarke yelped as she spread herself over the raft to look to where the two men splashed and wrestled and drowned.  


Murphy managed to launch himself high enough to land a rough elbow to Bellamy’s nose. Bellamy shoved Murphy away and the two separated themselves to gasp for air and nurse their wounds. “What the fuck man?” Murphy shouted once he had raked enough air back into his lungs. “What the fuck? I didn’t do shit to you!”  


“You have my shit!” Bellamy’s voice cracked.  


“I didn’t take nothing from you!” Murphy snarled. “Keep your dumb ass away from me!”  


The two finally clambered back onto the raft fuming and glaring at each other. “Well, we might as well get back to shore. Now that you idiots scared all the fish away.” Emori snapped.  


Clarke shook her head as Rashid and Pike got to work pulling them back towards shore. “What the hell was that about?” Clarke demanded, cornering Bellamy and Murphy with Emori’s help. “What is so important about your bag?”  


Bellamy paled noticeably. “None of your business.”  


“You made it my business when you punched Murphy in the face and risked drowning us all and starving our people!” Clarke snapped. “What was in the bag?”  


Bellamy stared hard at Clarke. “Drugs. Cocaine. Shitty cocaine, cut mostly with cane sugar and laundry detergent.”  


Clarke’s eyes widened. “You were smuggling drugs?”  


“No!” Bellamy yelped. “Well, yes. I’m doing a favor for a friend. That’s it. I’m not in a drug cartel or anything.”  


Murphy snorted. “Of course it was drugs.”  


“Like you didn’t know!” Bellamy boomed.  


“I didn’t actually!” Murphy snarled back. “What the hell makes you think I did?”  


“Jasper told me you knew, that you had it.”  


“I don’t!”  


“I can vouch for him.” Emori drawled, glaring at Bellamy. “He hasn’t talked to Jasper since last week.”  


“That bastard.” Murphy growled.  


Finally the raft ran aground and the six people unloaded and dragged their catch back up the cliff towards camp. Murphy stormed forward, and it was all Clarke could do to keep up with him. When they did enter camp, everything was a mess. The corpse of the dying woman had been dragged off to the side to be burnt or buried, and Aden was curled up in Lexa’s side, his mother nowhere to be found. Kane was pacing, explaining something rapidly and nervously, and Miller and Jasper stood to the side with their arms crossed and heads bent.  


“Jasper you fucking bastard!” Murphy snarled as he stormed through camp.  


“Murphy, stop!” Clarke demanded, grabbing his bare, sunburned shoulder. “Stop!”  


Murphy shrugged her away and grabbing the skinny boy and immediately punched him in the face. “You fucking rat faced liar! You wanted me dead!”  


Bellamy stormed forward, yanking Murphy from Jasper and rounding on him. “Where the fuck is it?”  


“What?” Jasper yelped, nursing his bleeding nose.  


“The cocaine asshole.” Murphy drawled, crossing his arms, muscles flexing. “The shit you tried to frame me with.”  


Jasper sputtered and Bellamy yanked his head up by his hair. “Where is it?”  


“Bellamy what the hell?” Octavia gasped from where she lay in the shade of a lean-to. “Cocaine?”  


Bellamy stared down at his sister with wide eyes. “I-“  


“Cocaine, Bellamy?” Octavia accused.  


“It’s not what you think-“  


“Oh it’s not what I think?” Octavia growled. “What is it then?”  


Jasper sneered. “It’s a favor for a friend right, Bell?”  


Bellamy whipped around and shoved him away. “Shut your fucking mouth!”  


“A favor for who, Bellamy?” Octavia demanded. “Tell me the truth.”  


“Yeah, tell her the truth.” Jasper sneered.  


Murphy stepped forward furiously. “You best shut your mouth before I break your fucking jaw, asshole. You almost got me killed.”  


“Bellamy,” Octavia warned, glaring up at him. Even injured and pale she managed to look fierce.  


Bellamy tensed, and Jasper wisely backed away from him. “Shumway,”  


Octavia froze. “Shumway?” She gaped. “Lincoln’s arresting officer?”  


Bellamy looked away, jaw tensing, teeth grinding. Clarke could see the wheels turning in his head as he struggled to face his sister. “Yes,”  


“The same guy who arrested my boyfriend for possession of cocaine?”  


Bellamy was silent. “Yes,”  


Octavia clenched her jaw. “Shumway planted that cocaine on Lincoln, didn’t he?” Bellamy didn’t answer. “Didn’t he?” She screamed, her voice echoed across the cliffs and was lost to the water below them.  


Bellamy gulped. “Yes,”  


The entire camp was silent as they watched the siblings stare at each other. “You really hated him that much?” Octavia muttered.  


Bellamy hung his head. “He was dangerous, Octavia. He was with the wrong crowd.”  


“Evidently, I’m the one in the wrong crowd! You’re the dangerous one!” She screamed. “He’s in prison because of you!”  


Bellamy seemed to shrink under the harsh gaze of his sister. “O, I’m-“  


“What the fuck!” Someone screamed from the edge of camp. “Fuck!”  


Clarke and the rest rushed forward, leaving the drama to follow Raven’s shouts. “Lexa, is that?” Clarke whispered as she reached where Lexa had stopped near the edge of camp.  


Lexa stood next to Clarke and gaped at the horizon. “That’s a mushroom cloud.”  


Raven screamed and kicked at the discarded parts surrounding her feet. “Fuck! This shit won’t help us anymore. Fuck!”  


Clarke stared in horror as the cloud slowly rose above the horizon, eclipsing the setting sun. “This can’t be real.”  


Lexa raised her hand to rest on Clarke’s shoulder. “Aden’s mother is gone. Kane told us that she fell from the cliffs, died on the rocks at the bottom. Aden’s alone. Apparently, so are we.” She was trembling, but Clarke was the only one to notice.  


But absolutely no one noticed Murphy grab Jasper and snap his neck during the chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how I feel about this chapter but... shit went hella down yeah? Now we know what Bellamy did and now things are getting really complicated for these poor kiddos. I almost feel bad but I'm an asshole and I enjoy their suffering so :>


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself

When they sat about the bonfire long after the sun had set and the cloud had dissipated further to the south of the island, most of the survivors claimed not to have an appetite. But once Lexa, Tris, Murphy, and Emori had finished gutting and scaling the fish and cooked them on a large panel of metal over the fire, not a single ounce of food was leftover.  


Clarke wasn’t full by any means, several days of rigorous exercise with literally no food at all left its mark. Her clothes hung off her body and she had already lost plenty of weight, but the meager dinner did wonders for her mood and her body. Even despite the knowledge that a nuclear bomb had dropped somewhere nearby and that likely they would have to find some way to survive the fallout with no shelter, Clarke was oddly optimistic.  


Of course, she was just about the only one. Abby, Monroe, and the injured were quiet and brooding over their lost patient. Octavia and Bellamy were separated as far as physically possible but still close enough to the fire to stay warm while Miller and Kane withdrew on themselves and mourned over the loss of two of their group’s members. Lexa, Tris, and Monty were busy building a pyre for the two new bodies. Raven, Anya, and Clarke moved to help.  


“No, you two sit down.” Clarke demanded as both women groaned nearly simultaneously.  


“I’m not some cripple Griffin.” Raven sassed. “I just lost my job. I need something to do.”  


Clarke shook her head. “You’ll rip your stitches.” She turned to Anya. “And you’ll open up that wound again and risk infection. You saw what will happen if you get that wound infected. You’ll die even faster, actually.”  


Anya grunted. “I can still help. I won’t move this arm.”  


Clarke glared. “No. Until that wound is mostly healed, you need to sit out and rest.”  


Anya rolled her eyes and took a seat to watch her cousins work. Raven crossed her arms and took a seat next to her, glaring at Clarke like she’d kicked her puppy.  


While the four built the pyre, Clarke could hear Anya and Raven grumble and bicker back and forth, and she hoped it was good natured. Anya was terrifying, to be frank, but Raven was a spitfire. The two in an argument or, god forbid, a physical fight, Clarke wasn’t sure who would win. Bones would break, blood would flow, mouths would froth. No, best to avoid that outcome.  


“I’m going to remove Bellamy from Murphy’s group.” Lexa told Clarke as she placed more twigs and branches across Jasper’s chest. “Best to keep them away from each other. He’ll go with Kane and Miller to collect water. I’m going to take Aden off that group and keep him with me. I don’t want him having to walk by the cliffs his mother fell from multiple times the day after she died. It’s downright cruel.”  


Clarke nodded. “I can’t imagine how he must feel. Alone and scared here.”  


Lexa shook her head. “He’s not alone. I’m going to make sure of that.” She clenched her jaw. “He’s getting off this island and to his family. I’ll take him on as my seken if I have to. But he’s going to get through this.”  


Clarke smiled. “I’m glad. He’ll respond better to you anyway. He’s rather taken with you.”  


Lexa hid her smile by turning away. “Don’t know why, but he needs someone. Might as well be me.”  


“Well, I think Harper is just about to be given the all clear by my mother. She should take it easy, stretch as much as possible, but her hip has been relocated and had some time to heal. She won’t be able to run for a little while, but she can work.” Clarke said with a sigh.  


“How long until Anya is ready to work?”  


“Don’t tell her this, because she’ll assume she’s fine now, but I think if we give her a couple of more days, she’ll be well enough to hunt. Like Harper, she’ll need to take it easy and not jerk or stretch that arm, because it could tear the scab and start bleeding anew, but it’s healing nicely.” Clarke shrugged.  


“She’ll be proud of the scar.” Lexa smirked. “Anya is a bit on the strange side.”  


“A bit?” Clarke teased before her smile dropped from her face. “What are you going to do about Murphy? You can’t just let him get away with killing Jasper.”  


Lexa shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. What can I do? Tell him he can’t eat? He was in the fishing group and helped catch the food. I can’t take away water, that’d be inhumane. Lashes?”  


Clarke furrowed her brows. “Absolutely not. We’re not animals, Lexa. We’re not going to beat people who don’t follow us.”  


Lexa shook her head. “Jasper’s friends are going to demand justice. But there’s nothing I can do that isn’t harsh.”  


Clarke pursed her lips. “What if we banished him?”  


Lexa looked at Clarke levelly. “He’ll die.”  


“He did kill someone.”  


“Who tried to have him killed.”  


“What was the line? ‘Nice motive, still murder’?” Clarke rebutted.  


Lexa stopped arranging the piles of kindle and stared at Clarke, watching her, observing her every move. Clarke felt like her very soul was being read and judged. “Would that make us any better than him? We’d be sentencing him to guaranteed death, or worse, capture and torture by infamous terrorists that have no qualms killing.”  


Clarke huffed in frustration. “Well, what can we do?”  


Lexa stared at her hands. “We have a trial. Murphy will get the chance to explain himself and call people to his defense. Then we ask the jury to decide if he should be punished and how.”  


Clarke nodded. “That sounds like the best plan of action. Feels more like we’re just putting it off. You know they’ll find him guilty.”  


Lexa gave Clarke a rueful smile. “Of course, but we have other things to worry about. Aden’s lost his mother, we have two bodies to burn, and the radio is a lost cause, according to Raven.” Lexa stepped back from their finished pyre. “Then there’s the matter of those terrorists.”  


“We’ll figure that out after the funeral.” Clarke patted Lexa’s shoulder.  


Lexa smiled a genuinely thankful smile before she moved to the other survivors, telling them that the pyre was ready, and that if anyone wished to pay their respects, they would be lighting it soon.  


As they stood around the bonfire, ignoring the smell of burning flesh, Clarke looked about the circle, counting how many people were left. Only nineteen survivors.  


The last few days, Clarke had become intimately familiar with her own mortality, nearly dying does that sort of thing to a person. But seeing people die left and right, nearly every day, people she’s met and talked with and known, if only barely, it’s taking a toll on her soul. Finding her mother and Raven alive and mostly in one piece gave her some relief, but followed immediately by losing three people in one day, Clarke was tired. She could imagine Lexa felt the same. Many of the people lost were teammates of hers, people she knew very well. Both of them were just lucky so far to have survived with the people they loved most thus far.  


“Tomorrow, we will hold a jury trial. Murphy will explain himself and we will decide the consequences of his actions as a group.” Lexa spoke with conviction, just daring someone to speak out against her. “Murphy, I understand he tried to have you killed, but we cannot permit violence in response to violence. Especially not now. I cannot stress enough how important unity and support is to our survival.” Lexa sent a sharp glare towards Bellamy. “We’re going to get off this island. It’s our only option.” Lexa’s eyes roamed around the pyre, lingering on Clarke, and then moving to Aden. “We’ve lost three people today. One to infection, one to murder, and one to an unfortunate accident. To those of you who have not heard, Aden’s mother fell from the cliffs on her way back from the waterfalls with fresh water. This leaves the water fetching group two people short. So, I’m moving Bellamy from the fishing group to the water group and away from Murphy. Aden,” The boy had tears streaming down his face, but he set his jaw at the sound of his name. “I’m taking you off the water group.” Lexa’s gaze softened. “You don’t have to go back there if you don’t want to.”  


Aden gaped at her, tears falling anew as he nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Lexa.”  


Lexa gave him a hesitant smile. “Of course.” Lexa turned back to the rest of the group. “Harper, I’ve been told you’re good to go?”  
Harper looked up at her and nodded shyly. “Um, yeah.”  


Lexa nodded once. “You’ll help Abby, Monroe, and Clarke with the injured and the rest of the little chores around camp. You may no longer be bedridden, but it’s probably best you don’t strain yourself too much.” Harper nodded eagerly as Lexa moved on. “Tris and I have found some nearby fruits that are edible, so tomorrow morning we’ll bring back breakfast with some fruits. Hopefully with something other than meat and fish, we’ll be able to stay healthy and alive long enough to get back to civilization.”  


Lexa was met with silence, but she showed no discouragement. “Raven, if the radio is useless, how can we gain contact with the outside world?” Lexa turned to the young mechanic.  


Raven sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. “The problem isn’t us, it’s the people we’d be contacting. Where the bomb went off is likely the nearest island, and therefore there should be a ship route within a few dozen clicks. The problem isn’t the bomb or the radiation, it’s the EMP wave that can travel for miles away from the blast site. It fries pretty much anything with a circuit board. Phones, computers, certain radios, certain cars, certain boats, entire power grids. Anything we’d try to get into contact with is dead.” Raven shrugged. “We’re just lucky that the wind blows southbound, which means the fallout will avoid us.”  


“At least there’s that.” Anya drawled sarcastically from her spot next to Raven, earning herself a nudge in the ribs.  


Clarke had to hide her smirk. It seemed not everyone in their crew enjoyed gallows humor the way Clarke and Raven did, but at least Anya got along with Raven well. “Anyway, everyone is going to be focused on the bomb site. Which means no one is looking for us anymore. All of those computers and cell phones we built the radio out of? Dead. So really we’re stuck writing giant letters in the sand.”  


Clarke could physically feel the tension of the group rise. She could feel the panic and hysteria rise. “Raven, there has to be something-“  


“If our tech has been fried then what does that mean for Dante?” Lexa interrupted, gaze piercing and body stiff. Clarke knew she did this on purpose, but she was comforted by Lexa’s strength. At least one person had control.  


Raven shrugged. “Unless they stored those drones and everything in large lead boxes, everything is dead.”  


“The guns?”  


“They’ll still work.”  


“Why haven’t they just sent people out to shoot us?” Lexa furrowed her brows.  


Abby piped up this time. “They’re supposedly pacifists.” She paused for the sardonic laughter that echoed around the pyre. “They just got the shipment of guns the day we escaped. But they claim the forest is impossible to traverse.”  


Lexa furrowed her brows and looked to Anya. Anya nodded once. “They’re an untrained mercenary group then.” Anya murmured. “Their priority is to get trained.”  


“Yeah they couldn’t shoot for shit.” Raven smirked. “Didn’t hit a single one of us.”  


Anya snorted. “Yeah, so they’re going to pull back briefly to train up. But it doesn’t take long. I mean, point and shoot. Hopefully they lost the drones though. But once they figure out that the forest can be traversed, we’re dead.”  


Lexa sighed. “We’ll find our way off this damn island one way or another. For now, we should rest. It’s late.”  


Clarke knew it was dangerous to let the group go to bed so scared and so lost, but they really didn’t have a choice. There was only so much hopelessness and fear they could combat at one time before it got to them too.  


That night, it was Lexa that curled up closer to Clarke, limbs tucked into herself and forehead resting on her back. Clarke suppressed the shiver that ran down her spine when her warm breath spanned across the nape of her neck. “We have to fight those terrorists if we want any hope of survival.” Clarke whispered, shifting only barely backwards, closer to Lexa.  


“With a handgun and five bullets.”  


“Raven could launch rockets with a four function calculator.” Clarke tried to smile.  


Lexa’s chuckle was about as weak as Clarke’s smile. “We don’t have any calculators. Besides, evidently they won’t work anyway.”  


Clarke rolled to her other side, their noses just barely brushing. Lexa was too close, too close to be appropriate, but Clarke wouldn’t talk about if Lexa wouldn’t. “We don’t have a choice.” She whispered, ignoring the way Lexa’s breath mingled with her own. “They have ways off the island, we don’t. They’re not going to stop trying to kill us, we already know too much.”  


Lexa gave her a sad half smile. “I know. It’s suicide.”  


“So we wait for our deaths instead?”  


Lexa closed her eyes, a frown marring her features. “Either we die here when they come for us, or die trying to fight them.”  


Clarke found her hand in the dark. “I’d rather die in a struggle to survive than die like cattle.”  


“Looks like we have our plan then.” Lexa whispered, opening her eyes again. “We’ll work on the details tomorrow. Let’s get some rest.”  


Clarke nodded. She scooted ever closer, finding a comfortable position curled up with Lexa, still holding her hand. Clarke didn’t remember when sleeping so close to Lexa had become habitual, if not routine, but she liked the closeness, the warmth of her body, the sound of her breathing, it calmed her to have something alive and human and familiar (enough) so close in a place where she felt so vulnerable.  


Lexa certainly wasn’t complaining.

 

“What the hell is this?” Raven cackled, smirking down at the mess in front of her.  


Anya laughed alongside her. “Lexa’s a gay mess and evidently Clarke is there for it.” The two girls were tangled and cuddled around each other, fast asleep.  


And Raven couldn’t be more excited or amused.  


See, it was Raven’s duty as Clarke’s best friend to tease her mercilessly, and this just gave her all the fuel she needed. “They’re never living this down.”  


“Hell no.” Anya snorted. “Hey, hakhodnes goufa. Wake up!” She jabbed Lexa’s side with her foot.  


Raven laughed. “What does that mean?”  


Anya leaned closer so as to avoid Lexa’s groggy glare. “It means ‘lovesick child’.”  


Raven smirked. “I’m using that.”  


“Please do.”  


“Perfect.” Raven winked. “C’mon, we’ve got shit to do!”  


“Shut up, Raven.” Clarke grumbled as she slowly stumbled to her feet, with some help from Lexa.  


“What a gentlewoman.” Anya pestered Lexa as she finally stood to her full height.  


“Yu ste presh raunon, Anya. If you weren’t injured, I’d kick your ass.”  


Anya scoffed. “Please, I taught you everything you know.”  


Lexa smirked. “Nontu taught me much more than you know.”  


Raven watched the verbal tennis match with rapt attention, but Clarke was evidently having none of it. “Anyway, you two. We have important things to do today, so stop your bickering, we have to get going.”  


“Hey, you were the one all cuddled up with hearteyes over here.” Raven snarked, unable to contain her laughter. “But you’re right, Murphy and Bellamy are at each other’s throats.”  


Clarke groaned. “Again?” She rushed off towards the two men before Raven could talk any further.  


“That happens frequently?” Raven yelped, following the blonde.

 

It took an hour to get everyone rounded up and prepared for the trial. Lexa and Tris had gathered up breakfast, and Lexa forced Murphy up on a larger boulder so that he sat above everyone else. Lexa stood to his side and glowered at everyone as they sat before her, ready to hear what Murphy had to say.  


Raven wasn’t sure what to do, she didn’t know these people. She knew Clarke, she knew Abby, she had a strange sort of friendship with Anya over their injuries and friends, but Murphy? Bellamy? She didn’t know them. She had no idea who Jasper was, or what he had done, and the whole confession last night between Bellamy and Octavia? That was awkward.  


But just about everyone else, they were much more hostile towards Murphy.  


“There are nineteen of us.” Lexa began, leaning against the boulder with her arms crossed. “Nineteen. We all know our survival situation, is kind of shit. And so, infighting needs to be dealt with immediately and seriously.” She paused to allow her words to sink in. “From the very beginning Murphy and Jasper had clashed. The first morning on the beach they were brawling in the sand.”  


“He had two other-“ Murphy interrupted. Lexa stopped him with a single raised hand.  


“Quiet.” Raven raised her eyebrows. Lexa had nearly complete control over everyone here. “It is my understanding that it was Jasper’s intent to split our camp against Bellamy through blackmail and threats. Part of that plan included Murphy’s distrust of Bellamy.” Her words echoed across the small crowd. “We’re holding this trial to determine how best to deal with the murder of Jasper.”  


Lexa allowed for the inevitable grumbling, but only just a moment. “Jasper was killed following the revelation that he had set up Murphy to be killed, or at least severely hurt, by Bellamy in order to prevent information regarding Bellamy’s past to come to light. All of this is fact, and I appreciate the separation of emotions before you come to your conclusions. We’re not savages. Murphy will have the opportunity to defend himself and make his case, I will have Bellamy explain himself, and then we will decide together, as a group, if and how Murphy will be punished.”  


Raven shifted as the tension and hostility of the people around her amped up.  


“Once Murphy has made his argument, I will allow for others to make their own statements and arguments. Murphy will have an opportunity to dispute them, but then once everything has been said, we will vote his innocence or guilt, and then we will discuss punishment if need be.”  


Raven’s stomach churned as the group murmured their assent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so, this chapter did not warrant such a large wait but just, life is hard. I go to college next Saturday so you can imagine the chaos that is my life at the moment. I'M NOT GIVING UP I'M GOING TO DO THIS  
> so translations for this chapter are mostly easy to figure out but there are a couple of words I'd like to discuss:  
> hakhodnes is my mixture between haken, which means sickness, and hodnes, love. Trying to make the word "love sick" because Lexy-loo is a lovesick puppy lol.  
> Also, I may be late to the party but David Peterson is on tumblr and I'm in love with linguistics so I'm gonna be totally nerding out about all of this.
> 
> Interesting tidbit, according to the Trig dictionary, the words for the units of the family are derived from numbers. But the interesting part is that the women come first! Nomon (mother) is derived from the phrase "number one" and nontu (father) is "number two" and this is extended to even royal families! Prince Roan's title Hainofa Roan is derived from the phrase "high number four."  
> Feminism for the win, amirite? This has got to have interesting waves throughout the rest of the society. Afterall, we know that society shapes language almost as much as language shapes society.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a disgrace.

Raven had no idea what to do with herself. She had a bad feeling about all of this. It doesn’t take much to start a lynch mob, after all. It seemed that most of the group already hated Murphy, and now he’d gone and done something that would give them an excuse to get rid of him.  


Hopefully, Lexa could keep control of her people.  


“Murphy, start before the crash. What did you do for a living?” Lexa was calm and Raven hoped that would rub off on the shifting crowd around her. Their anger was tangible, and if she was going to prevent further bloodshed, she needed to calm them.  


Murphy glared down his crooked nose at her. “Why does it matter?”  


Lexa heaved an obvious sigh. “Because clearly this whole mess involves Bellamy’s life before the crash, it’s only fair you share yours.”  


Murphy rolled his eyes. “I’ve been unemployed for a year now. Before that I was a contractor working in construction.”  


Lexa nodded. “Had you ever met Bellamy or Jasper before?”  


Murphy shook his head.  


“Okay, walk me through what happened before, during, and directly after the crash.”  


Murphy shrugged. “We were on a plane, plane stopped flying, bam. Crash. I got lucky, wasn’t hurt, so I just sat in the shade while you and Clarke got everything organized.”  


Raven swallowed down pride. Of course her Clarke would take charge even in the face of disaster.  


“In the line for water, you and Jasper got into a fight. What was it over?”  


Murphy shrugged. “Jasper was a fucking lunatic. I said something about an impromptu beach vacation and he flipped shit. Said things like people had died and I was insensitive. Then he punched me in the face. Broke my nose.”  


“Who stopped the fight?”  


“We all know who,”  


“Answer the question, Murphy. We don’t want to leave any gaps.”  


“Bellamy,”  


“Were you upset that Bellamy broke up the fight?”  


“No, glad he got that asshole away from me, but he was completely unreasonable about it. Sent me away like I started the damn fight.”  


“The next morning, what happened?”  


“My nose hurt like hell, we were all hungry, thirsty, scared out of our wits, I wanted some water. That night while everyone else was blabbing around the bonfire and complaining, I made a knife out of the wreckage and cut into the bark of one of the trees. It’s pretty damp once you get deep enough, take a big shred of the bark and suck on it, helps curb the thirst. Jasper tried to take my knife away, then he tried to take my tree. I told him to get his own. I worked my ass off on that tree, but he and his buddy Miller wanted that damn tree so they started sizing me up, tryin to fight. I could take Jasper’s skinny ass, Miller too in a fair fight, when we started to fight Monty came in trying to break it up and he really just got in the way. Feel bad though, Monty’s not bad, might have hit him in the ribs or something, I dunno.” Murphy shrugged. “But then Bellamy stopped it with his yippee kiyay bullshit shooting off in the air thinking he’s some sort of cowboy. Let them off without a problem, treated me like shit. Look, I’m an asshole, I don’t care. I’ll shout it from the rooftops, tell my goddamn grandmother. I don’t care. But fact of the matter is, Bellamy is worse. And Jasper fucking deserved what was coming to him.”  


Lexa raised one hand to stop Murphy’s tirade. “One question at a time.”  


Raven leaned towards Clarke, resting her chin on the blonde’s shoulder. “Lemme guess, lawyer?”  


Clarke nodded, giving Raven a smirk. “What gave you the hint?”  


“Okay, Murphy, the last incident occurred yesterday. You fought with Bellamy, and then came ashore to fight with Jasper again, and then you killed him while everyone else was, eh, distracted.” Lexa tilted her head. “Explain what happened during your fight with Bellamy. Who instigated it?”  


“Fuckin’ Bellamy!” Murphy grumbled. “He starts asking about what I know about him, the secret, where his shit was. Turns out it was drugs, and then he punched me. We fell off the raft and he nearly fucking drowned me. Pissed me the hell off.”  


“And the incident on shore?”  


“I was pissed! This asshole set me up to be killed! For what? A snarky comment? Come on! He deserved the shit he got.”  


“Thank you for telling us the truth, John.” Murphy made a face but said nothing else. Lexa took a breath and turned back to the crowd of survivors. “Okay, Bellamy, your turn. Clearly, you have something to do with this. Take Murphy’s spot.”  


Bellamy stood with a grimace and walked, passing Murphy silently to have a seat. His eyes drifted to the girl sitting behind Raven, Octavia, she thought. His sister. “That confession session though-“  


“Rae, hush.” Clarke murmured. “This is very serious, people have died.”  


“I know.” Raven huffed.  


“Okay, Bellamy. You’re a federal air marshal. So explain to us the drug situation. Yesterday we bore witness to a confession of sorts, but we don’t have the full picture. Give it to us.”  


Bellamy rolled his eyes. “Lincoln was my sister’s boyfriend. He- I didn’t think he was very good for her. His friends tended to get into trouble. Anyway, I have this cop buddy, told him I’d do him a favor if he could get rid of this kid for me. He did, and so I hopped on this flight to Japan with a bag of coke. I brought Octavia with me because, well, I’m her guardian and I couldn’t very well leave her alone while she was upset about her boyfriend getting locked up. The plane crashed and I lost my bag. I wasn’t worried about it until Jasper came up to me on the walk down the beach telling me that he and Murphy found it. Said something about telling the cops once we got off this island. I mean, just because we’re away from civilization doesn’t mean the law won’t come down on me later. So I panicked. I was going to make Murphy tell me where it was so that I could get rid of it. When he told me that Jasper was bluffing, I figured he had it.”  


“See? He’s the fucking criminal here!” Murphy shouted. Lexa turned to him, fixing him with a silencing glare.  


“I can’t very well punish you for what you did to Lincoln. That will have to wait until we’re off the island.” Lexa was stone-faced, and even Raven had to admit it wasn’t fair for Bellamy to go unpunished for the shit he pulled. “But clearly you can’t be trusted to remain unbiased. I won’t be giving you your gun back. And I expect you to follow my every order from now on. I’ll be giving you labor tasks to complete from now on until you prove to the rest of us that you can be trusted with our lives.”  


Lexa turned to the survivors now. She crossed her arms and leaned against the rock Bellamy sat on. “Thank you Bellamy, I’ll leave you to sort out what this means between you and your sister privately.” She looked to Clarke and then Anya on Raven’s other side for a brief second before she began to speak again. “We’re not here to discuss whether Murphy is innocent or guilty. We know he killed Jasper. But we need to decide what, if anything, we are going to do about it.”  


Lexa paused uncomfortably. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to offer up my personal opinion.” She glanced to Murphy and back to the crowd. “It’s true that Murphy hasn’t gotten along with the group, but that’s not to say that he’s a valuable asset to our survival. I’d like to remind you all that Murphy had solved his own thirst, and though we’d appreciate it if he had shared this knowledge with the group, that sort of thinking is invaluable. He also was responsible for the sled idea we used on the walk here. He’s the reason we have so much of what we do. Murphy is a natural survivalist, and we need the creativity that comes with the forceful drive to survive.” Lexa shifted again. “On the other hand, violence amongst ourselves will guarantee our deaths. Especially now that we have very little chance of connecting to civilization. I think, instead of punishing him, we should reform him. Let him into our ranks, to participate and benefit from our teamwork, and work towards a cohesive crew. But this isn’t my decision to make. This is ours. So, before we make our final decision, would anyone like to say anything?”  


Bellamy grunted in affirmation before standing up again to face the crowd. “Listen, I’m no saint. I’ve done some bad things. But I’ve never killed anyone. We can’t let this guy just kill one of us. Who’s next? Hope no one accidentally pisses him off next.” Bellamy rubbed his face with one of his large hands. “We have no room for killers here. We have enough people trying to kill us as it is.”  


“Thank you Bellamy. Anyone else?”  


This time Emori stood. Raven had never had a conversation with the girl, but she’d watched Clarke change the dressings on her hand, revealing two missing fingers. Emori nodded towards Lexa, and Lexa nodded back. “Listen, John isn’t as bad as you guys seem to think he is. He’s not a killer and he’s not a psycho. A psycho is the guy who sets another man up to be imprisoned just because he doesn’t like him. A psycho purposefully tries to hurt other people for his own gain. John, he’s just been trying to survive. Can you blame him? Jasper proved to be a threat to his life so he got rid of the threat.”  


“A person shouldn’t be ‘gotten rid of’ like trash.” Miller retorted.  


“He shouldn’t have acted like trash.” Murphy snarled.  


“That’s enough.” Lexa snapped and everyone straightened. “Now, we need to decide on our next course of action. Do we punish him or reform him? If you believe he should face punishment, move to the right. Reform, to the left.”  


Raven startled as everyone sitting around her stood and shuffled around to order themselves. She had no real opinion on the matter, she had other things to worry about, so she followed Clarke to the reform side. They were joined by Kane, Emori, Octavia, Aden, Anya, and Tris. That wasn’t enough. Of the seventeen voters, since Lexa abstained from voting to prevent a tie, eight voted for reformation and nine voted for punishment.  


Lexa pursed her lips. “Very well. It seems the majority has voted for punishment, now it’s time to decide what we will do.”  


Clarke had furrowed her brows in disappointment by the time Raven turned to her. “I would have thought your mom would take our side on this.”  


“I don’t know.” Clarke murmured. “She’s only seen the worst of Murphy so far.”  


“We need just punishments. What ideas do we have?”  


“Take away his rations.” Miller shrugged. “Let him look for his own food.”  


“We’re punishing this man for disrupting our group cohesion and then taking away his ability to benefit from our team work? Counterproductive.” Lexa argued.  


“Have him do the menial labor.” Bellamy suggested.  


“We’re separating the two of you. You tried to kill him. We’re not giving either of you the opportunity to hurt each other.” Lexa dismissed the idea immediately.  


“Banish him.” Pike suggested calmly, stepping forward. At the reminder of his existence, Raven wanted to vomit. “If he can’t participate, if he can’t work with us, then why should he benefit from us at all? Let him find his own way. If we manage to get our way to civilization then we can tell them about him, but until then, what does a murderer deserve? Nothing.”  


Clarke marched to stand beside Lexa. “We are living on an island with a fucking terrorist organization.” She snarled, startling Raven. She had forgotten how much of a spitfire Clarke could be. “Banishing him is a guaranteed death sentence.”  


“And he killed a man! Perhaps he does deserve a death sentence.” Pike was too calm, and Rashid, like he had been since they met, stood silently behind Pike, giving his solid, steadfast support. “Perhaps it’d be merciful if we ended it now.”  


Emori practically growled, marching past Raven and towards Pike. Raven reached out and grabbed her. “You don’t want to do that.” She hissed in the other woman’s ear. “Pike is dangerous.”  


Lexa stepped forward, matching Pike’s eerie calm with her own stoicism. “We are not gods. We cannot give value to one life over another, nor take one life for reasons of our own. We cannot choose who lives or who dies. When our lives are in direct danger, then perhaps killing will be our only option. But we have the option here. And I will not allow this group to outright kill Murphy.”  


“But you’ll let them indirectly kill him?” Emori demanded, struggling out of Raven’s hold to march towards Lexa. “I’m not saying what he did was right, but we can’t sentence him to die.”  


“Why not?” Rashid scoffed.  


“He killed Jasper, why does he deserve to live and not Jasper?” Miller argued.  


“And how are we any better by sentencing him to death?” Aden cut in, furrowing his brows and staring up slightly at all of the adults around him. “Isn’t the point of justice to restore balance in a society? How can we levy justice if we commit murder ourselves?” Aden tried to cross his arms, but his splint got in the way, so he struggled to hide his fumbling by squaring his shoulders. “How can we claim to say that murder is wrong when we kill him too? It’s backwards.”  


“Listen, kid, you’re smart, but this is an important conversation, real life can’t be perfect.” Rashid shrugged Aden’s arguments away. “We’re not here to philosophize, but to levy justice. This man killed someone. Punishment should fit the crime.”  


Lexa’s lip curled and Raven got the distinct feeling that this woman could tear these people apart if she’d let herself. She looked like a wolf readying to fight to the death. Raven’s stomach dropped.  


“Other ideas?”  


Silence. Raven looked towards Murphy, he was pale. He clenched his fists so tight that the scrapes on his knuckles reopened and began to bleed again.  


“Those that want to punish Murphy by taking away his rations, move to the left, banishment, to the right.” Lexa demanded through gritted teeth.  


Raven shuddered. Emori, Clarke, and Aden all abstained from making a choice, glaring at either side, while Monroe, Harper, and Anya moved to the left. Everyone else moved to the right. Raven darted to the left after making eye contact with Anya.  


Lexa’s jaw jumped as she clenched her teeth together. “It looks like we’ve voted for banishment.”  


“No.” Emori snapped. “Absolutely not. It’s a death sentence. We can’t just sentence John to death!”  


Lexa looked to her teammate, sympathy written across her features. “What are we supposed to do then? He killed Jasper.”  


“Not this!”  


“Your little crush doesn’t change the fact that he killed a human being.” Pike snarled. “Now, he’ll face the consequences.”  


Emori turned back to face her soccer captain. “You have nothing to say about this?”  


Lexa shifted. “They voted-“  


“It doesn’t matter anyway.” Murphy drawled, stepping through the crowd. “I’ve been on my own since I could toddle, I might as well be on my own now. I’ll be better off anyway.”  


Emori clenched her jaw. “I’m going with you, John. You need someone to have your back.”  


Murphy didn’t complain, but he did shrug one of his shoulders awkwardly. Silence fell over the group as the two of them gathered their things. Murphy nodded to Lexa calmly, and then stopped before Pike. “You’re an asshole.”  


And the two marched off, climbing down the rocks and trekking down the beach, back towards the plane wreckage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit man. I'm sorry. It's been over three months since the last update. BUT school lets out for the semester in like two and a half three weeks so after that it's basically non-stop writing! My life got hella busy when school started, between rugby, my job, my internship, and my full load of classes, things get pretty hectic. However! This should remind everybody that I exist and am doggedly refusing to give up on this story.  
> Thanks so much for your patience and enthusiasm!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is 4 am put me out of my misery

Raven had watch duty first tonight, but she knew nothing was likely to happen. Those drones were almost certainly fried. But camp would feel better if they kept watch anyway, and personally, Raven wouldn’t want to get on Lexa’s bad side. The girl was intense.  


Luckily for Raven, the light from the fire was enough for her to make some adjustments to her brace. Unsurprisingly, the piece of junk was falling apart already. That’s to be expected when you make a critical and frequently used piece of hardware out of scrap parts and no ability to weld. Raven was just lucky that she’s a genius.  


Of course, she was beginning to run out of ways to keep the thing strapped to her thigh. The brace had to go completely down her leg, keeping her ankle completely rigid, and then stabilizing her knee so that she didn’t collapse because she couldn’t keep her knee extended on her own. But her brace was loose at the ankle again and that meant that she ran a very high risk of rolling her ankle and breaking the damn thing.  


If she broke it, it’s not like it’d hurt, but she ran the risk of infection or serious disfiguration that would make wearing a brace even more difficult. But that didn’t mean that the brace was making it any easier for her.  


She barely registered someone sitting beside her, she was so focused on adjusting the twine knots keeping parts of the brace together. After the third time the knot slipped from her fingers, the presence spoke.  


“Need help?”  


Raven turned to send some snarky remark back, but Anya leaned forward and pressed a single finger onto the twine where the knot kept slipping. Two seconds later and Raven had the knot exactly where it needed to be and her ankle no longer moved within her brace.  


“Thanks,” Raven bit out, she always had issues with being nice. At least, that’s what Clarke said.  


Anya shrugged. “No problem.”  


Raven crossed her arms, glaring at the brace. Usually she could think of a million ways to make anything in front of her more efficient, but now that she’d tighten the one knot, everything was blank. It’s not to say that there was nothing to do to improve the brace, that it was perfect, but there was nothing Raven wanted to do. She wanted to strip the damn thing off and maybe go for a jog.  


Of course, she can’t.  


“I hate this damn thing.” Raven grumbled.  


Anya shrugged her good shoulder. “At least you can walk.”  


Raven rolled her eyes. “Barely.”  


“That doesn’t matter. You aren’t confined to a wheelchair, and you’re alive. There are dozens of others on that plane that can’t say the same.” Anya scoffed. “You should be grateful for what you have and forgive yourself what you don’t.”  


Raven shrugged. “Easier said than done. You don’t have limited mobility.”  


“I can’t shrug the way you can.” Anya rolled her eyes. “I can’t lift my arms or roll my shoulders. Movement of any type that could jostle my injury, I can’t do. That’s not going to stop me from doing what needs to be done.”  


“My leg isn’t going to stop me from doing anything!” Raven hissed.  


“Fine, but when the time comes will you be able to run?”  


Raven practically growled. “Who’s side are you on?”  


Anya rolled her eyes. “It’s not about sides, Raven. It’s about getting over your pride and learning to accept yourself. We’ve all been through a traumatic event, still going through it, and we’re all different for it. Now it’s time to accept the physical change you’ve gone through thanks to this shithole.” Anya paused and scoffed once again. “You’re never going to be the same again. Better get used to it now, because if you don’t it could get us killed.”  


Raven sighed. “Yesterday, I found bruises up and down my shin. I hadn’t even known they were there, and when I pressed into the worst of them, there was no pain whatsoever. That kind of bruise should have me fucking howling in pain. But nothing.”  


“You’re right.” Anya was gentler now, Raven would never describe Anya as gentle, but that’s what she was at the moment. “It is easier said than done. But that doesn’t mean you can give up.” She put a hand to Raven’s shoulder a squeezed. “Yu ste yuj, you’re strong. Don’t pussy out now.”  


Raven smirked and allowed a silence to settle between them, calmer and relaxed. Anya let her hand drop back to the ground. The trees rustled with the wind coming off the water, and though her back was to the fire and she had a jacket to cover herself, Raven shivered. She glanced back to see Lexa and Clarke whispering back and forth, practically draped over each other. “They really hit it off huh?”  


Anya nodded. “I haven’t seen Lexa so comfortable with anyone not directly related to her in a very long time.”  


Raven shrugged. “Clarke’s a flirt, but this is a completely different level. Like for fucks sake, we’re stranded on an island, stop eye-fucking.”  


Anya laughed, like honest to god laughed, and Raven had to hold back her own laughter just to say she witnessed it. Anya’s laughter was short-lived, though, because the shaking of her shoulders and the vibrations of her chest aggravated her wound and the sound tapered off into a grunt of pain. “They’re rather oblivious.”  


“It’s awful.”  


“Bets on when they kiss?”  


“You’re on. Two weeks, and it’s during a fight.”  


Anya whistled low. “Alright, I give it a week, and it’ll be soft and sentimental, after a confession, there’ll be no witnesses, but they won’t be able to stop blushing at each other so we’ll all know immediately anyway.”  


“Right,” Raven rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”  


“What will I win then?” Anya smirked.  


“You think you’re winning. How sweet.”  


“Cocky aren’t you? But I know my cousin, she’s a born romantic. Can’t be aloof to save her life. She tries but she’s just too gushy. She’s practically a valentine’s card come to life, only without the cheesy lines. She’s a gay puddle with no game, that kid can’t function around pretty girls. I’m surprised she hasn’t short circuited with all that cuddling over there.” Anya snickered. “She was born to be the 

Commander of the Trikru, but really she’s a love-sick teenager.”  


“Commander huh? How does that work? She’s so young.”  


Anya shrugged her good shoulder. “It’s another term for Chieftain, I suppose. Commander is just the closest translation to English from Trigedasleng. Her title is really ‘Heda’ but it’s difficult to translate the full meaning.”  


“Why not try?”  


“Why bother?”  


“I’m bored, we have plenty of time, and it’s better than thinking about terrorists and killers and nuclear bombs.”  


Anya furrowed her brows as she stared out across the forest. “How about this, for everything I share about me and my people, you share about you.”  


“Me? I grew up in the same place as Clarke. There’s nothing to tell.”  


Anya shrugged again. “Sure there is. You have a family, friends. A community, it’s no different.”  


Raven nodded slowly. “Okay. One for one, shoot.”  


Anya paused. “I have no siblings, but Tris and Lexa are my cousins, we were raised together as if we were siblings.”  


“No siblings, just my mom and I. But Clarke and Abby came into my life later on when I met Clarke.”  


“I spent a majority of my life on the reservation, but when Lexa wanted to go to school off reservation, her father begged me to go with her because he was worried for her safety. Tris followed shortly after.”  


Raven smiled. “I’ve lived in Baltimore my whole life. Worked several car shops and ‘car shops’ as a kid and then teenager. I’ve made a decent name for myself and I’m working on a degree at a school just outside of Baltimore, but the goal is NASA.”  


“My uncle, Lexa’s father, is the current Heda of the Trikru. He’s a good man, but protective, sometimes overly so. He keeps a lot of the children from going off reservation as much as possible. And he makes sure that we only hunt during certain seasons.”  


“Really? Why?”  


“Abandoning the game so soon?” Anya teased.  


Raven shrugged, entirely unfazed. “I want to know more about your people. Clearly it’s a small tribe.”  


Anya nodded. “My clan is very small, and a majority of the people living on reservation right now are very poor and rarely leave because of it. It’s not our fault, it’s very difficult to make a living with that ‘redskin’ label, you know?” Anya sighed. “We were pushed into a box so small we can barely sustain ourselves on it. There’s almost no room for farming if we don’t want to completely destroy the forests we have left, but that would take away all of the game we hunt. The food shortage is something we all felt growing up. Even Heda sometimes couldn’t put food on the table for Lexa.  


“Then, Lex, Tris, and I, manage to get off the reservation, we had barely any money. In fact, we were homeless for a few weeks before we managed to scrape up enough for an apartment. Often, when we applied for jobs and they asked us where we lived and what our experiences are, it was all from a reservation. They just assumed we knew nothing about technology or the global world. I’m not a brilliant computer programmer, but I know how to work a cellphone. Granted, Lexa could kill a computer just by looking at it, but the rest of us are just as adept at Google as any white kid around.”  


Raven was enthralled. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people ask me if I’m legal, or if I need a translator.”  


Anya smiled. “Exactly. Anyway, after we each got jobs, we were able to at least live on our own for a while. We lived near the university Lexa was desperate to get into, and just about every other day she was in the financial aid and admissions offices trying to get in. But they had a really nice soccer field that we could get to without having to show university ID’s. So on the weekends we’d go and play soccer, it’s what we grew up playing, Lex especially loves it, and it was a nice little break from our daily grind you know? But one day, we were playing a pretty nasty match, Tris on goal keep and I was playing defense and Lexa forward. It was pretty nasty; I think we danced around each other with that ball for thirty minutes without moving out of a five-foot radius circle in the center of the field. Tris was starting to get bored and I wanted to wake her up a bit, but Lexa wasn’t having it. So she did a fucking rainbow kick on me. Of course, I’m on it, because I’ll have you know I’m the next Marta, but Lexa is a bit faster. She beams it towards Tris. Tris saves it, tosses it back to me, and as Lexa is barreling towards me, because I’m pissed off, I do the rainbow right back and this time, I score.” Anya’s eyes are bright, and her smile is something so primal, Raven would expect her to be talking about sex itself. “We’re having a good time, but apparently we were starting to cut in on the varsity soccer practice, because the coach comes storming over and demands we come with him. The team is watching us like we’re gods or something, which I guess is reasonable, but this coach is pissed the hell off. So Gustus leads us through campus and right into the admissions department and demands we be enrolled the next semester and he didn’t care how many hand jobs he had to give we were going to be given full rides and spots on the soccer team. He told us he’d seen us around and been impressed, but that time he’d been watching us the whole time and was so blown away he wouldn’t accept anything but our uniform sizes.”  


Raven grinned. “I got a full ride at UMBC for mechanical engineering. Something about being a robotics genius.” She winked and Anya huffed a quiet laugh. “Brains over brawn.”  


“I’m studying history.” Anya smiled. “The kinds of things I didn’t get the chance to study on the reservation. It’s whiter than what I learned, but it’s interesting, and free.”  


“It was just me and my mom growing up in Baltimore. So I did a lot of working on cars and things while avoiding her. Just kinda expanded from there.”  


Anya nodded, a content smirk on her face, watching the forest. Raven didn’t want to tear her eyes away from the older woman’s profile. Anya had these sharp cheekbones, high on her face and catlike eyes that made her look far wiser than her years. But the upturn of the corners of her lips softened her just enough, Raven could see under her cold façade.  


And it shouldn’t have been peaceful, not with the way things had been going on the island. But it was and Raven felt the peace settle gently around them. A soft breeze, the crackling of the fire, the clicking of the insects in the forest before them and the crash of waves behind them relaxed Raven. She didn’t mind the sand all that much, and now that it had cooled down some the heat wasn’t bothering her either. Really, it was just the stench of a dozen terrified and injured adults, unbathed for longer than a week that got to Raven. “I could really use a shower. A real one, with soap. And a razor.”  


“Yeah you could.”  


“You’re worse than me!”  


“Please,”  


“Shut up,”  


“Make me,”

 

The survivors eked out a routine in the following days. With just Lexa, Tris, and Aden entering the forest every morning to retrieve breakfast and then back out at noon for dinner, they were able to keep away from the drone perimeter and avoid further losses. Most of the time, the traps didn’t have much in the way of food for dinner, but Pike and the fishing group brought enough to feed everyone a second time. Clarke supposed they likely had about a quarter to half of the necessary calories to maintain their weights every day. Which meant that they’d drop weight like an anchor in the bay, but they’d be alive and have enough energy to get through the day and survive to the next. Lexa ferried off a few of the smaller animals and dried out their meat to keep in case they needed more food than they had, but at least no one went to bed without food to eat.  


Clarke certainly noticed the way Anya and Raven followed each other around, how could she not? They argued constantly. They probably got off on it or something, but it was annoying to everyone in camp.  


Anya’s wound was beginning to scar over. Abby deemed her out of danger for infection, which Anya took as “completely fit and ready for strenuous exercise.” Clarke spent a good deal of her day lecturing Anya on the dangers of stressing her still healing chest. Raven proved useful in giving the older girl something to do while she waited for a clean bill of health. Though Clarke suspected that went beyond tinkering with scraps of metal and arguing over Jason Bourne movies.  


Clarke sat next to Raven beside the fire just before the first watch of the night began. Lexa and Bellamy were working together to fix up a partially collapsed hut at the last minute. Raven grabbing the designated poking stick to play with the coals of the fire, smiling at the flare ups in the flame. Her smile disappeared in seconds. “Holy shit what am I doing?” She whispered, eyes widening. “I’m an idiot!”  


Raven jumped up from the fire and ran towards the ditch they used to relieve themselves downwind of camp. Clarke heard a muffled scream of joy before Raven returned, beaming. “Clarke, I know how we’re getting off this fucking island!”  


Everyone perked up at this, and all of the sudden, the camp erupted in cheers and questions and excitement. The first stroke of happiness in weeks.  
Clarke grinned, she knew Raven would get them out.  


“Quiet down,” A single voice cut through the cacophony with precision. “Raven,” Lexa walked forward, brushing tree sap from her hands onto her filthy jersey. “What are you talking about?”  


“I’m such an idiot, god I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this sooner!”  


“Raven,” Lexa rolled her eyes. “We forgive you, now give us details.”  


Raven snapped away from her ranting, eyes bright and a grin stretching across her face. “Gun powder!”  


“From what gun?”  


“That one!” Raven pointed towards the ditch beyond the trees. “That, over there is a gold mine of potassium nitrate!” Raven paced towards the fire. “And there’s our carbon source, we’re just missing the Sulphur! But that doesn’t really matter I can adjust the ratio and it’ll explode just fine.”  


“I don’t follow.” Lexa folded her arms across her chest.  


“We can make bombs, Lexa. Some really, really, REALLY crude gun powder, a couple of weeks in the sun, Monty and I can rig up some detonation system or other, and we have bombs.” Raven’s grin was contagious, and Clarke couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride sweep through her. That’s her best friend. “It’ll take a while. I can’t just extract potassium nitrate in a day, but, I can do it. That’s the point. If we have weapons, even if they’re just sticks and stones, we have a chance. And we need to take it.”  


Lexa was made from stone; Clarke was convinced of it. She didn’t even breathe while they waited for the final verdict. “Blood must have blood.”  


The camp cheered.  


“Hold on, wait.” A man’s voice rose above the crowd. “Hold on!” He boomed. Charles Pike stepped forward. “We’re using homemade gun powder against heavily armed terrorists?”  


“What would you have us do? Tase them all?” Raven snarled.  


Pike raised his chin. “Raven, I wouldn’t expect you to understand, but not all of us want to sacrifice ourselves for a crudely made pipe bomb.”  


“Listen here you piece of shit-“  


“Raven,” Lexa raised one hand to silence her. “If not all of us agree, then we’ll sit down and talk it out.”  


Clarke moved to her feet with a sigh. “Now’s a good a time as any. We’ve got a routine that keeps us alive and we’re working up a surplus. We’re already in a better position now as we were a month ago. But we can’t last here forever, we need to get off the island, see our families. I’m sure no one will argue against that.”  


Bellamy grunted in agreement, standing silently behind the group. He’d become something of a sentinel among the group. He did very little talking these days, and he hung in Octavia’s shadow like a kicked puppy. But he became less abrasive towards Clarke and Lexa as they tried to keep camp in enough order to survive, in fact, he quickly became an asset and stood at Lexa’s side more often than not.  


“We just banished a guy for killing someone. Now we’re starting a war?” Pike folded his arms.  


“You voted for Murphy’s punishment.” Lexa snarled. “You chose to kill him. What’s the difference here? I can tell you, this time you have to look them in the eyes and pull the trigger rather than turn your back and let them die alone. This is an opportunity to save our own lives. We need to do what is necessary to survive.”  


“What happened to the moral high ground?”  


“What moral high ground?” Lexa retorted. “We threw that away a long time ago. Either way, I believe in fighting our enemies. Not ourselves. Murphy wasn’t innocent but he didn’t deserve what he got. And those terrorists? They’ve killed people. They’ve killed our people, and they’ve killed hundreds of thousands of others, a handful of nations have lost thousands of troops to the information leaks these people claim are for our greater good, and they’ve orchestrated at least one plane crash, who knows? Maybe there are more.” Lexa shook her head. “I’m not saying we should aim to kill them all, but I am saying that in this case, deadly force is necessary.”  


“I agree with her.” Kane stepped forward. “We have no choice but to retaliate. They’ve made it clear that negotiation is not an option.”  


“Abundantly clear.” Raven grumbled.  


“I’m with Lexa and Raven.” Clarke stepped in. “Anybody else object?”  


No one spoke. “Then we have our decision.” Lexa was calm, quiet. “We need to scout them out. Learn more about how they work and their habits and routines. Raven, get to work on the gun powder. Make a surplus.” Lexa turned to Abby and Kane. “Tomorrow we’ll discuss what you two remember from the compound and try to cook up something of a plan. Anya, you’re a good strategist, I could use your help.”  


“Sha, Heda.”  


“Tris, you and Aden will fetch breakfast tomorrow and take over food prep. We’ll adjust everyone’s duties as we prepare for war. But we can do this. It’s time we get off this island.”  


Raven grinned. “Aye aye, cap’n.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! And neither is this story! Also, I've done a little bit more planning out and this shit gets heavy in the next few chapters. Well, light and then heavy. But yeah, be warned there will be pain and torment for everyone in this story and then I'm applying salt to the wounds in the planned sequel :) Just remember I hate myself as much as you do lol But on a more serious note, the plot is really starting to come together! Also, the bit about the gun powder, really true and I'm probably on a few watch lists for it. I nearly failed high school chemistry because I'm shit at it, but I watch a shit ton of documentaries and I got a bit about homemade gun powder made with urine. Gross, but really fucking cool! Basically, after a very long time draining, filtering, and evaporating the urine, you're left with potassium nitrate (though I'm positive it's impure) take some charcoal, which you can make by slow burning wood for a long time, grinding it up to a very fine powder, and adding sulfur, and you've got gun powder! Unfortunately, where the gang is, there's no casual sulfur mines hanging around, so they have to make do without, which, in fact is possible, as I've learned from a few medieval weaponry theses and websites I've read when researching this, also my dad is a weapons nerd too. Like father like daughter I guess. Anyway, basically, by messing with the ratios, you can get a similar performance out of just nitrate and coal as with nitrate coal and sulfur. Check out this page if you're interested in the chemistry behind it and want a cool history lesson too: http://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/recipe.html  
> Anyway, that's your nerdy lesson for the day, and now you know how to make gun powder! Come back next time for a nice lesson on the Ancient Viking sword making technique, world renown and incredibly durable! (spoiler: I don't know the secret and neither do historians actually, it's a secret lost to time, forgers and archaeologists have failed to replicate the Viking broad sword to the durability and finesse of the Vikings themselves. Cool amiright? Also heartbreaking for sword and weapons enthusiasts.)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in the same month. Someone check my temperature I think something's wrong.

“Raven Reyes, I hate you with a deep seated passion.” Clarke snarled as she lifted the makeshift shovel once again with a disgusting squelch.  


Raven glared back. “You think I’m having a good time?”  


“It was your idea, ‘use the manure’ she said, ‘it’ll be easy’ she said.” Clarke grumbled. “How the hell did I get stuck helping you?”  


“Because I pulled the short stick so Monty is rigging the barrels we need to make this shit- no pun intended- into gun powder, and I’m stuck with harvesting. And I just so happen to have blackmail material on you so shut your mouth we’re almost done.” Raven retorted.  


Clarke gagged at the next squelch, and then again before Raven deemed them finished. “I’m never helping you with anything ever again. Understand? Never again. Bellamy can do this next time.”  


“Bellamy was busy with the hut construction. He’s tired of them collapsing when it gets windy.”  


“Yeah well, shut up.”  


“Anyway, I’ve gotta cart this off and start dehydrating it as much as possible. If I can get the water out as soon as possible, I can cut down the evaporation time and get the KNO3 out quicker. It won’t be fun so tap out now while you can.” Raven rolled her eyes.  


“Bye.” Clarke nearly sprinted to the water for a swim to wash off the refuse from their hour or so of digging.  


Clarke didn’t get much time to herself immediately following her short bath. Lexa waved her over to talk with her mother and Kane, Anya had a strip of canvas, likely taken from the plane before they moved, and a piece of charcoal in her hand. She had drawn up a mockup of the island, what they knew of it, and a few hesitant labels. A majority of the map was blank.  


“Now that everyone is here,” Anya rolled her eyes, glaring at Clarke. “Let’s get to it. How many buildings did you say they had?”  


“Three or four, we were held in a resident building, a large basement. I think a dormitory just above that was evacuated for us, and a large living room, lobby, activity center above that.” Kane answered immediately. “Wallace claimed a very modern compound. Frequently, burned A.L.I.E. members come to this island to get away from the authorities. Dante is all about comfort and luxury. He doesn’t like getting his hands dirty. He let Cage do all the work.”  


“Dante told us that he’s a pacifist. He doesn’t believe in violence, but he wants to change the world. I guess this is his way of helping the cause, sheltering members until they can obtain a new identity and get back out to the world at large. He’s practically untouchable by any nation’s authorities.” Abby added.  


“So they’ll have trained personnel on hand, Heda.” Anya murmured to her younger cousin. Tris meandered over and crouched next to her oldest cousin to scrutinize the map.  


“With a recent transport of weapons, and probably more since they escaped, plus time for training, we have to assume they’re all trained and armed.” Tris looked up to Lexa. “Right? Better safe than sorry?”  


Anya nodded. “Sha,”  


“Any self-respecting strategist would immediately train troops with those weapons.” Lexa waved off, beginning to pace in the space between Clarke and Tris. “Do you know the layout of the buildings? 

Any insight into the movement of the people inside the compound?”  


Kane shook his head. “We would, but Pike and Rashid left our inside man for dead in the forest.”  


Lexa stopped. “You didn’t tell us this.”  


Abby shifted in her seat, glancing towards Clarke. “We couldn’t in front of him. He and Rashid are dangerous. They turned on Maya, the girl who got us out, tased her as we were running and left her to the people chasing us out.”  


“They have weapons?” Lexa’s eyes were sharp and concerned. Clarke tensed, Lexa’s bordering fear startled her. “You kept that quiet for so long?”  


“It seemed they were deferring power to you, it was the best decision to make at the time.” Kane defended. “If we had brought it up before now, wouldn’t you have made a big deal about it? 

Confronted them in front of everybody and made them turn in their weapons? We can’t risk setting them off into violence towards the rest of us.”  


“Do you think I’m stupid?” Lexa snarled, crouching to eye level with Kane. “This isn’t cheating on the juice cleanse you and your girlfriend agreed to, what I don’t know will kill all of us. You let us live with two armed murderers unknowingly for three weeks. They could have turned on all of us weeks ago and we wouldn’t have been able to defend ourselves. Tris, where’d you put Bellamy’s gun?”  


Tris’s eyes widened. “I gave it back to Bellamy, he’s the only one with a holster and I- I don’t know you were busy.”  


Lexa held her hand up to stop her rambling. “Fine, we’ll talk to Bellamy. We need to be sure that there’s someone armed to keep an eye on them. I’m going to assign him back to the fishing group. They’ve had three weeks to plan a move against us.”  


“You mean you,” Abby argued.  


“A move against me is a move against all of us.” Lexa barely gave her a passing glance as she continued her pacing. “If I fall chaos will tear apart this group. We’ll die without each other. If you want that, by all means, remain passive.”  


“Mom, she’s right. We can’t afford another upset like Murphy.” Clarke reasoned.  


“And if anything happens to either of my cousins, any and all people involved will have hell to pay.” Anya growled.  


“Listen, we did what we thought was best.” Kane held his hands up in an attempt to soothe Anya, though Clarke could tell that it only pissed her off more. “Nothing bad happened, so we’ll let them be for now and get on with escaping this hell hole.”  


Lexa nearly growled. Clarke supposed Lexa hated to lose control. “Fine. What do you know about the joka on the other side of this jungle?”  


Anya snorted and Tris smirked down at the sand. Lexa was tense, but neither of them seemed to fear their cousin the way Abby did, so Clarke took a breath and relaxed the tense muscles in her shoulders. Lexa fought tooth and nail for them, and now she was a hound on the hunt and she’d caught her prey’s scent.  


Abby shook her head. “We were running for our lives. We didn’t get much of a look around.”  


Lexa took a breath. “And that’s all you can give us?”  


Kane shrugged. “That’s all we know.”  


“Big help.” Anya sneered.  


“It’s like we’re playing chess when we can’t see the board or any of the pieces until one of us is killed.” Tris murmured.  


Lexa turned back to Clarke, glancing between the blonde and Anya. “We have to scout them. We have no choice.”  


“But who goes?” Clarke asked, leaning forward. “We can’t risk any of the injured, which leaves out Raven and Anya, half the camp.”  


“Indra and Octavia, they’ve nearly healed entirely, correct?” Lexa asked quietly.  


Clarke shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, but you know Bellamy will pitch a fit.”  


Lexa shook her head. “If he goes with them then we risk a fight breaking out between Octavia and Bellamy. Our scout team needs to be one cohesive unit. Octavia and Indra work perfectly together.”  


“Tris and I-“  


“I need you two here to help with preparations. You were raised by my father and his brothers, you know something about strategy and weapons. We can’t just separate now.” Lexa shook her head.  


“Lexa? Anything I can help with?” Aden approached timidly, glancing towards Abby and Kane hesitantly.  


Lexa gestured towards the spot next to Clarke with her chin, and Aden took a seat to watch them work. “Aden you see a lot of the group when they’re not around us. Who works well as a team?”  


“Octavia and Indra.”  


Clarke slung an arm around Aden’s shoulders and shot a wry smile up towards a slightly frustrated Lexa. “He’s not wrong.”  


“Fuck it,” Lexa growled. “Tris go get Octavia and Indra. They’ll need to know about this plan. Anya I need a list of what we have and what we can have by the end of the month. Ask Raven if you need to. Abby, Kane, go back to your duties, we’ll call you over if there’s anything else we need.”  


The well-oiled machine was set in motion. Clarke had to admit, it was fascinating to watch. And maybe a little hot.  


Really hot.  


Clarke planted a kiss to the top of Aden’s head and squinted towards the sky as Lexa continued to pace. “So what are you thinking?”  


“I’m thinking that there’s no way we’re taking over the entire base. The best we can do is hijack a boat, or a helicopter if we’re really lucky. I think the explosives will be useful in giving us a decent distraction.” Lexa explained, crouching before them and giving a small smile to Aden. “We’re getting off this island.”  


Aden grinned back, before his smile petered out. “A helicopter has a weight limit.”  


Lexa’s smile died just as soon as he spoke. “Boat it is then.”  


“Boat it is.” Clarke squeezed Aden’s shoulders. “Excited?”  


Aden nodded. “I miss my dad. Mom too, but you know, won’t see her again.”  


Clarke leaned her head on his, she’d grown affectionate for the kid since his mother died. He was a genuinely very smart kid, and Clarke hated the way life had dealt him his hand. “I know. Believe me, I do.”  


Aden nodded, leaning into her embrace. He cleared his throat of the slight wobble in his voice and forced a smile. “It’ll be okay. I have you guys right?”  


“’course!” Clarke assured. Lexa nodded, leaning forward to ruffle his hair.  


“Yu ste ai seken.” Lexa smiled. “We’re family.”  


Aden lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug. Lexa, in true Lexa fashion, was entirely caught off guard. Hesitantly, she hugged him back, grinning slightly at Clarke over his shoulder. Aden sat back, wiping tears from his cheeks before they could fall. Clarke twirled a finger around one of his strawberry blonde locks in amusement. “Your hair is getting long. Should we cut it?”  


“It’s been bothering me.”  


“Lex, your knife?”  


Lexa produced a knife from her belt and handed it to Clarke, handle first with a smile. “I don’t know, a mullet might come back in fashion, I hear they’re bringing back the eighties.”  


Aden wrinkled his nose. “Over my dead body.”  


“Alright,” Clarke leaned forward and flicked Lexa’s ear as punishment. “Leave him alone. How short should we go?”  


“Not too short, I don’t want a sunburn on my head.”  


Clarke shrugged. “I can do that. Sit still.”  


A few minutes later Clarke turned his head back and forth to check the symmetry. “Look even, Lex?”  


Lexa leaned forward to run her fingers through his hair. “You missed a spot here.”  


Clarke clicked her tongue and leaned forward to cut the tuft of hair Lexa held between two fingers. “Better?”  


After another run through Lexa nodded her approval. “Looking good.”  


Aden rolled his eyes. “I need some water. “I’ll be back in a bit.”  


Clarke and Lexa watched him go with identical smiles on their faces. “I think he’s adjusting pretty well without his mom.” Lexa sighed. “I feel bad for his dad. He probably thinks both of them are dead, and then when we get back, he’s lost his wife. Then that just gets me thinking about my own dad you know? He’s lost his only daughter, plus two nieces, and no heir to lead the clan.”  


“I’m sure it hurts now, but he’ll be so happy when we get back.” Clarke bumped Lexa with her shoulder. “But back to the actual escape. I want to go with Octavia and Indra. Mom, Monroe, they both have the health care here covered, since most of us are in the clear. I want to do something useful for the group and with three of us going we’ll get more information and be better protected-“  


“If you’re going then I’m going.” Lexa cut in.  


Clarke shut her mouth with a click. “They need you here.”  


Lexa looked away, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. “Anya can handle things for a few days. You’re right, we need more people to scout them properly… and besides, they- you need someone who knows the forest, knows how to survive. Anya still doesn’t have full range of motion, and I’m certainly not sending out my little cousin.”  


Clarke furrowed her brows. She had to admit that having Lexa there would make her feel safer, but she really didn’t need to go. “And if I changed my mind?”  


Lexa looked back, eyes wider than usual. “I’d uh, still go. I meant what I said.”  


Clarke nodded slowly. “I won’t change my mind. I’m going.”  


Lexa gave a nod. “We’ll go in two days. I’ll prepare enough rations for us to travel. We’ll set up camp a mile or so away from the compound so that I can set enough traps to feed us while we’re there.”  


Clarke chuckled wryly. “My mom won’t be happy about this.”  


Lexa shrugged. “You’re a capable leader. She must see that.”  


Clarke shrugged. “I’m her daughter, I understand her hesitance. It’s just, I’m not a kid anymore.”  


“The first time I ever went hunting with just Anya, my dad would never admit this, but Heda mothered us so extremely that we could barely carry our packs with how much he tried to make us take with us. I’m talking two extra gallons of water each, three separate bright orange hats, rifles and extra rounds, so many rations. It was bad. Way more than necessary for an afternoon hunting trip.” Lexa huffed in amusement. “My point is, they worry, and that’s not going to go away. But the best you can do is prove that their worries are unfounded, that they can relax a bit and nothing bad will happen. A little difficult around here with our current situation. But the drones are down, which means the forest is way less dangerous now. I don’t expect anything bad will happen to us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So 1. it is 630 pm here. Which means I just updated this story at a reasonable hour. 2. Clexa being moms to Aden. _holy shit _Like that's one thing I hadn't intended when I killed off Aden's mom but now I'm thinking that it was a great decision. 3. Fuck off Lexa "for my people" is Clarke's line we all know the truth you gay trash. (i feel you boo I'm gay trash too) 4. T-minus three days until Trump is inaugurated. Guess who's going to the protest the day after??? ME! My mom and I are going, my dad can't cuz he hurt his leg. Not sure if my sister is going but I have every intention of being loud and proud yo. So those of you in the US, look up protest marches around the US, this march is called the Women's March on Washington. They have sister marches being attended by celebrities all over the country in just about every major city on Saturday, the day after Trump swears in. If you can, I encourage you to attend one, or tell everyone you can. If you can't go for whatever reason, donate, or yell about it to anybody unfortunate enough to be nearby. You can read the platform statement here: https://www.womensmarch.com/principles/__
> 
>  
> 
> _  
> _Before you blindly follow them, please know that this organization is not perfect, no organization is. So please, make sure you agree with them. For example, disabled women are 'mysteriously' left out of most of what they've claimed they stand for (as of today 1/18/17). They also changed their stances on sex workers' rights. Originally, they claimed to stand for sex workers' rights, but now that's only for people exploited by sex work, which I'm for, of course. But I believe that sex work is as much a woman's right as freedom from sex work. (keep in mind the term "sex work" is very broad, and includes everything from prostitution, pole dancing, and waitressing at Hooters and Twin Peaks so, there are some questionable stances on that line of work this march takes that I'm not sure about.) Also, I've found there's been a lot of confusion about what this march stands for. It frustrates me. It starts off as an anti-trump march, became a pro-woman march (not mutually exclusive) and then has struggled to really properly portray the platform it stands for. Women who are against abortion have been uninvited, which I also find to be frustrating. Abortion is a complex issue and you can very well be anti-abortion while being pro-choice. I think in the next four years, we need to stop nit-picking, stand together for the issues that matter, and find a way to compromise. We, as citizens, cannot be proper checks on our government if we cannot work together. If we turn away from every woman (every person) that doesn't agree with absolutely everything we believe in, then we'll never make any progress. So please, as you're showing your support for our movement, be sure to be informed about everything surrounding it. Be sure to be informed about every movement, every policy. Every politician running for office in local and national elections. I ask that you don't ignore and actively hate movements that are not perfect, because you'll find very few movements that you CAN support. I ask that every time someone tells you their opinion, whether you agree with them or not, play the devil's advocate and ask questions, seek answers, and argue. Listen to what others are saying and listen to what you are saying because our country depends on it._  
>  _
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> _Anyway, sorry for the rant, I'm a very excitable Poli Sci student, and if you have anything you absolutely must say, go ahead and say it in the comments, or head over to my tumblr. The link is somewhere around here.__  
> 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead!

It took thirty seconds to retrieve the gun from Bellamy. But it took much longer to get Bellamy to agree to letting his sister go off into the wilderness with them. Octavia had told them she would go, and nothing Bellamy said would stop her, but Clarke and Lexa both knew he was not above sabotage if it meant keeping her safe.

“Bellamy isn’t my brother.” Octavia scoffed as she paced before Clarke. Lexa was running behind in getting her pack ready, leaving the three girls to watch the sunrise before the tree line. “Whatever he says has nothing to do with me.”

“He may not be your brother but you’re still his sister. He feels responsibility for you. Even if you don’t want him to.” Indra scoffed. “He’s an idiot. But he doesn’t know how to be anything but your brother.”

Octavia turned fiery eyes to her friend. “He better learn to get over that. When we’re off this island, he’s gone from my life.”

Clarke couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Bellamy. What he did was wrong, absolutely, without a doubt. But he’d lost his only family in a botched attempt to protect her. It was an ironic tragedy.

Lexa finally jogged over, pack bouncing on her back with each step and rolled canvas in her hand. She stopped to tuck the canvas with Anya’s rendering of the island into her pack and then she clapped her hands together with a smile. “Ready to go? Abby and her group made the trek in a day and a half, slowed down by Raven’s injury. I think we can probably make it there by sun down.”

 

 

Indra and Octavia took the front, with occasional guidance and directions from Lexa based on the positions of the sun, but Clarke found herself lingering back to fall into step next to Lexa, eyes scanning the trees uneasily.

Sweat dripped from Lexa’s jaw down her throat, each drop rolling slowly down soft skin. It took all of Clarke’s willpower to look away and focus on the task at hand. Lexa ran a hand through her hair, tilting her neck just right; Clarke nearly tripped.

Lexa glanced over in concern, but Clarke waved her off with an awkward clearing of her throat. “So, law, right? What’s that like?”

Lexa smiled. “Never-ending reading.” She paused for a moment. “And sometimes we break it up with a good paper or two.”

Clarke grinned. “You make it sound boring.”

Lexa shrugged. “For the first little bit, it is, but then once you’ve learned the basic things, you get into the interesting stuff. I’m interested in environmental law. I want to go back to the reserve and get them the resources they need you know? My people are ignored and hidden away and no one seems to care. I’m in a much better position now, I could just keep my head down and do what it is that I do and carve out a good life for myself, but what kind of leader would I be then?”

Clarke went quiet for a few moments as they marched through the brush. “Your dad is the chief, right?”

Lexa nodded. “We call him Heda.”

“Is it a generational thing?” Clarke asked. “Like do you get the title when he steps down or passes away?”

Lexa tilted her head. “It’s more complicated than that. My father says that Heda had many children across the territory that our Clan held, it’s an honor to bear Heda’s children. But when Heda died or could no longer serve, the children- above a certain age- would congregate in the capital where they would fight to the death. It was believed that Heda held two spirits, theirs, and the spirit of the first Commander. It’s not the same as the two-spirited people in other tribes- the Commander’s spirit never crosses through to the spirit world, Heda’s duty is eternal to our people. As long as the Trikru live, Heda must remain. But when Heda died, the Commander’s spirit needed a new host, one compatible with the second spirit. So, the children of the previous Heda would prove themselves worthy and compatible with the second spirit. It was bloody and cruel, but also a sacred ritual.” Lexa shrugged. “But the colonization of our tribe ended that practice very quickly. As you can imagine, the Europeans thought it was savage. But the main reason they stopped so long ago was because the genocide took so many of our people away that we couldn’t afford to lose so many children to one ritual. It simplified to a best-in-combat. No death, but sometimes permanent injury. As time went on the ritual just kind of, died, I guess is the word. Our Heda has been monogamous for many generations now, there are some descendants- really distant cousins of mine- that pop up every now and then trying to claim themselves as Heda, but they don’t typically succeed. Usually because those people didn’t even live as Trikru, they managed to trace themselves back to Trikru through genealogy websites and showed up with delusions of grandeur and bringing our people back to their former glory.” Lexa rolled her eyes. “Anya, Tris, and I are the only descendants of the Heda previous to my father, but my dad won the fight and took control. My uncles say that it was because they didn’t want it. It’s probably true. But I’m an only child, so I’ll probably have a ritual sparring match with Anya or Tris, unless they truly want to take over as Heda, which they probably won’t. It’s more of a spiritual role than a legal one.”

Clarke smiled. “It’s interesting. Are you nervous to be Heda?”

Lexa shook her head. “No, the tribe looks to my father and I for spiritual guidance most frequently. I have a long time before I take the mantle. It’s not imminent. But I want to make Heda a leader again, you know? I’m going to work with our council and different organizations, the legal system, whoever. I’m going to give some dignity back to my people again.”

“Well, you’ve got my support.” Clarke nudged Lexa’s arms. “If you ever need some random EMT to show up, give me a call.” Clarke winked.

Lexa laughed, a soft blush covering her cheeks. “Will do. For now, though, we should focus on survival.”

Clarke smiled, allowing the silence to fall over them as they marched together through the jungle. Without the threat of automatic weapons, it seemed so easy to forget that they were stranded there. Like two friends doing some exploring through the jungle of an island they’re visiting for vacation. Clarke could almost forget that she’d only known Lexa for a few weeks and in the worst of circumstances. She could forget the people she couldn’t save and forget the people she was trying to save. It was relaxing.

“What do you like to do? Other than save the day of course.” Lexa smiled over at Clarke.

“I’m an artist.” Clarke shrugged. “I paint and draw mostly, tried my hand at sculpting, but I could never get the hang of all the moving parts. Three dimensions is just too complex for me.”

“You made it big yet?”

Clarke laughed. “No, not yet. One day.”

“I believe it.” Lexa grinned cheekily.

“You’ve never seen my work.” Clarke shoved Lexa’s shoulder. “For all you know, I could be awful.”

“But you aren’t.” Lexa shrugged. “I can tell.”

“How?” Clarke challenged, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s in your eyes.” Lexa winked. “Anybody who lights up like that just talking about something they do, even their weaknesses in the skill, you can see the talent ooze out of them, like it’s beaming from their very being. It’s all very obvious.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is.” Clarke rolled her eyes. “Since when were you such a poet?”

Lexa scoffed. “Language is an art too, Clarke. I’ll have you know, you’ve just met the second greatest artist of our generation.”

“Hm.” Clarke smirked. “And who’s the first, Narcissus?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“If you two are done flirting, we have to keep moving.” Octavia snapped back towards the two girls lagging behind. “You’re slowing us down.”

Lexa and Clarke had the decency to look scolded before picking up into a slight jog to catch up with Indra and her something of an apprentice. Clarke struggled to keep herself from blushing; and based on the goofy grin Lexa was sporting, she hadn’t succeeded.

 

 

“What’s this do?”

“That’s a motherboard, dolt.” Raven threw a set of wires braided together towards the annoying blonde currently invading her space. “It does absolutely nothing now.”

Anya scoffed. “So what’s the point of keeping it?”

Raven groaned. “To wipe my ass, fucked if I know. Stop touching everything!”

“If it’s not useful why do you care?”

Raven glared daggers. “I have a system. It’s my system and the system works. That system does not include annoying blondes moving everything around.” Anya didn’t budge. “Respect the system!”

Anya snorted. “Isn’t one of the tenants of mechanics not to install parts in your system that aren’t critical to its function?” Anya smirked at Raven’s answering indignant scoff. “If it’s not necessary then why would you put effort into keeping track of it? Sounds like you need work on your cost-benefit analysis skills.” Anya smirked as Raven prepared to grab the part from her hand. “What’s so special about this-“ Anya yanked the part away from Raven’s lunge. “-particular-“ She grunted as Raven leaned into her space to reach for the motherboard. “part?”

“It’s less a point of utility and more respect.” Raven grumbled, shoving herself from Anya’s lap in resignation. “You’re annoying, don’t you have anything better to do?”

Anya shrugged with her good shoulder. “Everything is pretty much taken care of. All that’s left is to see what in the hell you’re supposed to be accomplishing.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Oh goody.”

Anya smirked, throwing the piece down in its place. “Better?”

“Kiss my ass.”

“Hey Ahn!” Tris called out, jogging towards the two girls, Aden at her side. “The water group just reported seeing something in the water on their way back. They said something about it looking like a boat.”

“Can you show me?” Anya moved to her feet, perhaps faster than she should have.

“Wait, let me come with.” Raven grabbed a sun-bleached duffel bag from her side. “There were so many cameras and stuff in our junk pile, I made a telescope. The mirrors aren’t perfectly aligned, but they’ll give us some zoom.”

Anya held a hand out to help Raven up, squeezing her hand when Raven took the help without complaint. “Perfect, this could be really good. Aden, stay here, keep it quiet. Make up something if anyone asks.”

Aden nodded, puffing his chest out with importance. Raven had to admit, the kid was maturing way faster than expected on this god forsaken island.

Tris jogged ahead, but Raven had no way of keeping up with that kind of pace, not with her leg. Anya hung back to keep pace with her under the guise that it hurt to breathe too deeply, but Raven knew that was entirely untrue.

Luckily it wasn’t too far, and they had worn down a decent trail already that allowed Raven access to the cliffside. Tris stopped along the side to watch the water before pointing out a shape in the water floating along in the patch of glare from the sun shimmering in the near distance. “See it?”

Raven handed over the makeshift telescope to Anya. “A boat?”

Anya nodded. “Boat, sail from the looks of it.”

“Friend or foe?”

“Can’t tell.”

“Should we risk it?” Tris crossed her arms. “The water group already knows about it, who knows how long it’ll take everyone to figure it out. We could have a panic on our hands.”

“Or worse,” Anya grunted. “People could get their hopes up.”

Raven shifted as Anya’s playful mood slipped entirely from her face, replaced by a stoicism that made it impossible to read her thoughts. “So what do we do? Lexa and Clarke are off in the woods and we have no way of getting to them. What if it’s rescue?”

Anya shook her head. “If it’s rescue we tell them where they are. But we can’t be sure it’s not junk floating from that island that got bombed. We can’t be sure it’s not A.L.I.E.”

Tris fidgeted. “We should go back, signal the fishing group back in, get everyone in one place. Safety in numbers.”

Anya nodded. “We’ll do that.”

 

 

The sun was disappearing under the tree line when they heard the telltale sounds of civilization. Carefully, slowly, as quietly as the four could manage, they approached the encampment. They could hear the yelling of orders to guards and, oddly enough, laughter. “Indra, you and Octavia will go west. Pick around the camp and get as much information as you can. Clarke and I will head east. Stay hidden. If you run into trouble, run.”

The two nodded and disappeared without another comment, maneuvering through the broadleaves as if they’d grown up walking through the forests. Lexa urged Clarke in the opposite direction, keeping an eye on the camp as they moved.

“They’re too happy for a group of terrorists.” Clarke murmured. “They’re playing football while we’re starving to death.”

“This is the place they send burned agents. It’s a vacation for them.” Lexa grunted. “That’s what your mother told us. Guess she’s right.”

“They have a lot more security guards than I expected.”

“They know we’re scrappy and desperate. I knocked a drone out of the air with a rock a while ago.” Lexa shrugged. “They don’t put it past us to ambush them in desperation.”

“And we’re doing exactly what they expect us to.” Clarke glanced to Lexa. “We’re playing into their hands.”

Lexa shook her head. “Raven is making explosives.” She whispered. “If we can plant more than one, find the dormitories, fill em with shrapnel. We could take a lot out at night. The guards move to the injured, another wave. Guerilla warfare. Take the fight to them. They have homefield advantage but we’re more desperate than they are.”

“We’re banking a lot on desperation.” Clarke argued. “Will that be enough?”

Lexa shook her head. “It’ll have to be.” Lexa tugged her sleeve. “Let’s see what else we can find.”

Clarke and Lexa followed the tree line around the camp until they reached sand and beaches. “Do you see the port?” Clarke squinted.

“No, but I think those are the dormitories. Right along the beach. Tall stories, porches. It’s like a goddamn hotel.” Lexa hissed. “You think Raven could find the structural weaknesses in those buildings?”

Clarke shrugged. “She’s a technical genius. I don’t know how much she knows about architecture.”

Lexa tisked. “If we could collapse those buildings-“

Clarke gave Lexa a look that stopped her midsentence. “You sound like one of them.”

Lexa furrowed her brows. “I’m trying to get us off this island. It’s not going to be bloodless. It hasn’t been bloodless from the start.”

“I just think-“

“They’re killing us off one by one, Clarke.” Lexa interrupted. “We can’t afford to be pacifists.”

Clarke scoffed. “Don’t interrupt me.”

Lexa backed off. “Sorry,”

Clarke nodded, frowning at the other girl. “Would just an explosion work?”

Lexa shrugged. “Would you want to take the risk that it doesn’t?”

Clarke conceded. “It’s getting dark. We should find the other-“

Clarke was interrupted by the telltale popping of guns and the shouts of guards. “We got intruders!” Some guard broke up the football game. “Lockdown at the dorms! Get going now!”

“Shit.” Lexa grabbed Clarke’s bicep and they were running, noise be damned. “Octavia and Indra must have been caught.”

“We need to go back for them!” Clarke huffed, allowing Lexa to yank her out of the way of oncoming trees, and doing the same when Lexa was on a path headfirst towards a tree. “They might need our help!”

“I didn’t tell them to wait for us if something were to happen.” Lexa grunted, ducking beneath a vine. “They knew the risks. I’d rather have two of us survive and return with our knowledge than all four of us die.”

“There are more!” They could hear in the distance. They were found.

“Anyway, too late.” Lexa bit out as they sped as fast as they could manage through the forest. Their feet sinking into the soft soil beneath them.

Reluctantly, Clarke ripped her arm from Lexa’s grasp and ran with new purpose, keeping pace with her well enough.

Bullets sprayed to their left, so they veered right. “Clarke, keep close to me!” Lexa called back as she began to edge ahead. Clarke huffed, unsure how long she could keep running. She wasn’t trained like Lexa was for long distance running. “Clarke, come on!”

Clarke pushed harder, heart racing as a round of bullets hit a tree as she passed it. She yelped, high pitched and panicky, as she flew past broadleaves and vines and bright flowers. “Lexa!”

Lexa grabbed Clarke’s arm again, dragging her to the side as they lunged towards a tree. Clarke stumbled blindly, unable to keep up with the movement as Lexa shoved her down something of an incline, and through a set of leaves, beneath the roots of a long dead tree, killed by the suffocating growth of a parasitic vine.

Clarke had no idea how Lexa knew of this place, perhaps it was dumb luck, or maybe she had seen it earlier, but they only had seconds to shove themselves into the tiny space and hold their breaths so that they couldn’t be heard.

The shouting grew closer. Occasionally, a spray of bullets would startle the two and they’d huddle closer, careful to keep all limbs from poking from their hiding spot. Clarke would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought of being this close to Lexa in a dark, enclosed space, but not like this, never like this.

The two stiffened as footsteps moved down the incline they had practically rolled down. “They came this way.”

Clarke could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, she only prayed it wasn’t loud enough to make their position known to the guards. If they were found here, they were done. Dead. There would be no escaping.

Miraculously, the footsteps echoed away, gun shifting in the hands of an antsy, trigger-happy guard. “Where the fuck did they go?” He growled. “I knew Cage was right about it all. Leaving them to die made them fucking forest savages…” his words drifted away and Clarke finally let herself breathe, dropping her head onto Lexa’s shoulder in relief.

Lexa shifted. “Clarke that hurts.”

Clarke’s head whipped up from her shoulder. “What?”

Lexa’s grimace twisted her face, marred her features, and Clarke’s breath caught as her heart jumped to her throat. “That shoulder. I think it’s dislocated.”

Clarke breathed out. “I thought you were shot or something.”

 “Patch me up, Doc.” Lexa cracked a smirk.

Clarke grabbed a twig from the ground and handed it to Lexa. When she was met with confusion, Clarke rolled her eyes. “If you scream we’re dead. Bite it.”

Lexa nodded, placing the twig between her teeth and taking a few deep breaths while Clarke readied herself to relocate the shoulder in such a small space. “Ready? One, Two-“ Clarke set the joint before she made it to three.

Lexa grunted, tense and pained. Finally, she relaxed, spitting the twig from her mouth and moving to lean against the tree. “We should stay put until we know the coast is clear.”

Clarke moved to disentangle herself from Lexa’s long legs, though there wasn’t much she could do in such a contained space. “Do you think Octavia and Indra made it out?”

Lexa shrugged with her good shoulder. “They’re smart. I think they have a chance.”

Clarke moved to curl up nearly on top of Lexa, head resting on her shoulder. “Do you think about what life will be like when we get back?”

Lexa sighed, arms coming around to rest on the blonde’s waist. “I try not to.”

“It’s the only thing that keeps me going some days.” Clarke confessed. “The idea I might get to go home you know? Maybe I’ll get a cat.”

 “A cat? Why bother? A cactus is just as good company.” Lexa grinned.

“You don’t like cats?” Clarke giggled quietly. “Well that’s a deal breaker.”

“Is it?” Lexa teased, jabbing Clarke’s side, where she knew Clarke was ticklish. “Who said there was a deal to be made?”

“Well, not anymore.” Clarke laughed, avoiding Lexa’s more serious tone. But when she looked up, Lexa’s smile was gone, replaced by something more intense, more focused than Clarke had seen her.

They were so close it didn’t take much movement for their lips to connect. Clarke strained her neck and back, twisting herself to keep the angle, to keep from breaking the kiss. Somehow, her hand found the side of Lexa’s face, stroking the sharp jawline beneath her fingers, a soft hum felt more than heard rumbling through Lexa’s chest.

When they finally did separate for air, and so that Clarke didn’t break her neck, she found herself struck motionless, watching the girl behind her process it. Eyelashes fluttering and lips still slightly parted, Lexa stunned her. They were covered in sweat and dirt, weeks’ worth of it, her hair had grown stringy from only bathing in salt, and there was no determining if the pink of her cheeks was from a blush, exertion, or simply sunburns. But Clarke couldn’t think of a single image prettier than the one beneath her fingertips, breathing and struggling through the implications of the last few moments. “Is this even real?” Clarke whispered, voicing the silent fear she had been keeping down in the back of her throat for weeks.

Lexa’s face said it all; for once, she didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know.”

“Our friends could be dead.”

“So could we.”

“It’s downright inappropriate.”

Lexa giggled, honest to god giggled. “We’re hiding from gunmen in a dead tree in the middle of nowhere. You’re worried about propriety?”

“Someone has to.” Clarke nudged her with an elbow to the ribs. “Will you be serious about this?”

“About what?” Lexa rested her chin on Clarke’s shoulder and heaved a sigh.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“It was a kiss, if that helps.”

“Thanks, Einstein.”

“What do you want me to say?”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “What you think.”

Lexa grunted, refusing to come out of her hideaway in the crook of Clarke’s neck. “I like you.” She muttered. “It’s the single most inopportune time, but that’s the case. I like you a lot and it’s weird and not quite right and I kind of hate myself for it. But I do.” Lexa finally relaxed from her slowly tightening grip on the other girl. “Happy?”

Clarke placed a kiss on her hairline. “Something like that.”

“So, what happens next then, Doc?”

Clarke shrugged, bobbing Lexa’s head up with the movement. “What do you think?”

“I already told you.” Her petulant whine brought a smile to Clarke’s face. “It’s your turn.”

Clarke hesitated. “I don’t know, Lex.” She sighed. “We’re stuck on an island with a terrorist group out to get us.” The arms around her waist tightened. “How do we know that this thing, between us you know, is real and not just this island?”

Lexa shook her head. “I know what I feel, Clarke.”

“Yeah.”

“And you?” Lexa murmured, pressing a kiss to the crook of Clarke’s neck. “What do you think?”

“I feel it.” Clarke whispered. “I don’t know what it is, but I feel it.”

“We don’t have to label anything.” Lexa murmured. “Do anything. Just survive.”

Clarke scoffed. “Shouldn’t life be about more than just surviving? We deserve better than that, don’t we?”

Clarke felt her hesitation, she didn’t have the energy to turn and look at Lexa, but she could feel the way her breath stalled, could hear her thoughts whirling about behind her. “Maybe we do.”

They let the words settle there. Heavy and thick and thought provoking. The darkness was reaching for them now, the sun setting, casting the forest into shadow. And they sat, in silence as they choked on the remnants of the last three words. Clarke moved first, inching her hand, nudging at Lexa’s until the other girl tangled their fingers together.

“I’m tired.”

“Then sleep.” Lexa whispered. “I’ll keep watch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, been awhile yeah? I rewarded yalls patience with Clexa if that helps any :) School gets out in a month, so expect radio silence (news I know) until after school lets out, but then it's just me and whatever job I can manage to land.


	18. Chapter 18

Anya was a pacer, Raven learned. She trampled the sparse weeds beneath her feet with every pass, to the point Raven would guess that it would take weeks for them to grow back.

The sailboat circled around the jutting cliff slowly. At an agonizing pace, bit by bit they watched it move across the shimmering waves, finally turning as the sun danced across the horizon, not quite ready to sink below into twilight.

Tris took note first and stood at the edge, arms crossed as she watched the boat pick its way closer and closer. Raven had to admit, the girl cut an impressive silhouette. The sharp angled face she shared with her cousins had a majestic look to it that had Raven staring between the two, feeling gayer by the second.

Aden had signaled the fishing group back to shore and the group hesitantly ate their catch for the day, wondering if this would be their last meal on the island, and under what circumstances they would be leaving.

Raven looked back towards Anya. “So, they’re coming towards us now.”

Anya nodded and turned sharply on her heel, back the other direction. “Yeah,”

“Plan?”

Anya shook her head. “They’ll get closer and we can determine if they’re help or not.”

“Anya, you know they’re not.” Raven hissed from her seat on the ground.

Anya’s glare could set fires. “Don’t say it out loud. We can’t have a panic. This is a chance for diplomacy.”

Raven’s lip curled in a sneer. “Trust me, they don’t do diplomacy.”

“We have to go down every possible path before escalating to a violent confrontation that most -if not all of us- will not survive.”

A sick feeling settled in Raven’s gut as she thought of Maya and the way they had turned on her, the way Raven had let it happen. “We need to stay safe. We need to survive. If we let them get close-“

“Hey, I can kinda make out what the name of the boat is.” Tris called, dropping the binoculars from her face and turning towards them. “ _Weatherer_. Bet it’s supposed to be philosophical.”

“They probably think they’re weathering some storm here yeah, this resort island with all the amenities.” Raven bit back. “They sure know struggle.”

Tris barked a laugh. Raven watched in slow motion as Tris raised the binoculars back to her face, smile still in place, shoulders still shaking in mirth. And in slow motion, her body jerked back with the force of the bullets hitting her chest long before the cracking of gunfire reached their ears.

Raven would never forget that moment. Traces of her laughter still brightened her face as blood stained her shirt. Raven watched the life drain from Tris’s eyes long before she ever hit the ground, knees first and then face down. Blood pooling around her head and shoulders.

People screamed, Raven wasn’t sure who, and Bellamy hauled Aden from the ground and practically threw him into the tree line. “Everybody run! Get out of here! Go!” He boomed, dragging Harper and Monroe through camp and away from gunfire. Chaos descended on camp as people scrambled for the cover of the trees. Others dove to the ground, crawling for their lives. Bellamy was quick to evacuate camp with as many people as he could grab.

Raven was flat on her stomach, still staring at Tris’s body in terror. Anya was screaming, she realized, as Raven turned her head. Anya dove to the ground the moment gunfire rang out, but now she was struggling to crawl to her cousin without putting too much weight on her still injured arm.

Raven grabbed for her. “Anya, stop, we have to go!”

Anya shook her head in a panic, struggling out of Raven’s grip. “Ai seken!” Her voice broke, and Raven struggled to keep her own heart from ripping itself from her chest. “Ai strisis! Ai nou na ban em op! Beja, Tris!”

Raven dragged herself up and kept her arms around Anya’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground, safer from the continuous spray of bullets, but still in danger of crawling directly into their line of fire. “Anya, listen to me. If we get any closer both of us are dead, do you hear me?”

Anya shoved Raven, hard, from her back. “I’m not leaving her.”

Raven grappled with the older girl again, finally successfully pinning Anya to the ground on her stomach. “Tris is gone.” Raven’s voice cracked. “You can’t just leave Lexa alone like that, can you?”

Anya let out a pitiful little sob. “I need to protect her.”

Raven pressed her forehead to the base of Anya’s neck, letting a few tears escape. “She’s gone. You need to be around to protect us, and Lexa.”

Anya nodded and Raven rolled off of her. The gunfire stopped for a few moments, so they took their opportunity to run to safety, well, Raven hobbled, but Anya never left her side. They said nothing as they ventured deeper into the forest and away from their camp.

 

Night fell quickly, and despite her breach of stoicism, Anya was stone-faced and silent for hours before they finally stopped to rest. Raven didn’t know what to say. “Hey yeah, the cousin you were obviously close with is dead, but I don’t exactly know how to start a fire with just two pieces of wood, do you mind?” Yeah, that would be a shitty decision. Raven kept silent and still and watched as Anya worked mechanically, she just wanted to help, and if that meant ignoring sniffles and hands that touched her face more frequently than necessary, Raven would do it.

“We’ll need to round the group back up.” Raven started as they sat, huddling over a fire perhaps too small for the both of them.

Anya nodded.

“Maybe we should go back to the wreckage. At least there’s shelter there.”

Anya nodded.

“How will we signal to Clarke and Lexa what happened? Leave a note? I don’t think we should get any closer to camp, and there’s no telling which path they’ll take back. Maybe mark the trees with arrows?”

Anya nodded.

“Anya,”

She nodded again. Raven rubbed at her face with a sigh. “I’m not gonna ask anything stupid like, ‘are you okay,’ because you’re not and I’m not in the mood for transparent lies, but do you need to talk about it or something? I’m sorry for what it’s worth, which I’m sure is nothing, but whatever hollow comfort, you know?” She rambled until Anya slowly met her eyes over the fire.

“What if they’re gone?”

“Huh?”

“Clarke and Lexa. What if they’re dead too? Maybe they caught us spying, said ‘hey, they’re organized, we should probably fuck that up real quick.’” Anya spat. “What’s the fucking point, Raven?”

Raven blinked. “To get back home.”

“For what, huh? What’s the point? I’d rather die here with my cousins than live a lonely life back home, maybe succumb early to alcoholism if I’m lucky. Die here, die there, at least my dad’s bumper sticker that says: ‘camp or die trying’ makes for a disgusting irony.” Anya huffed with the effort of her rant.

Raven raised her eyebrows. “You done?”

Anya scowled, her eyes dropped from Raven’s face back to the fire and she nodded, almost meekly, as meek as Anya got. “Yeah,”

Raven crossed her arms. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to mourn, healthily, might I add, and we’re going to get off this godforsaken island. You’re going to realize that shit, even without your two cousins you still have a family that love and care for you. You’re going to realize that in lieu of your real-life friends, you have an asshole Latina with a limp willing to help you through this. It’s probably not enough, but let’s face it, it’ll have to be until it is.”

Anya blinked away the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. “I can’t live without them.”

“Yes, you can.” Raven shrugged. “It’s hard and it hurts. Someone once told me that: ‘it’s easier said than done. But you’re strong. Don’t pussy out now.’”

Anya’s lips lifted in the smallest of smiles. “They sound like a jackass.”

Raven grinned. “Oh, they are.”

Anya’s smile fell soon after, and she took a shuddering breath. “It doesn’t feel real.” She finally let the tears fall. “I can’t keep the image from my head but- fuck- it doesn’t feel real. Nothing on this goddamn island feels real.” Anya looked genuinely lost as she searched for something in Raven’s eyes. “How am I supposed to mourn when it feels like she could walk through the brush any minute now?”

Raven was at a loss. There was no right answer, she knew that, but Anya needed a friend. “I don’t know.”

Anya shuddered, letting the agony wash over her in waves. Raven sat in silence as Anya struggled through composing herself. “You’re an ugly crier.” She murmured, moving to sit next to Anya and pulling her in for a hug. “C’mere.”

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The floodgates opened and Anya openly sobbed into Raven’s shoulder and her shirt quickly soaked through. Raven would be lying if she said that she hadn’t shed a few tears, but it wasn’t the time to break down. Was there such thing as getting used to death? Raven sincerely hoped that there wasn’t. She couldn’t imagine being that broken.

Raven was too distracted by her own thoughts to notice the way Anya’s shivering had stopped, how she sagged, exhausted and propped up on Raven’s shoulder. Raven shifted her body so that Anya’s head laid across her lap and settled in for a long night. “Guess I’ll take the first watch shift.” Raven muttered to herself, resting her hand across Anya’s cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys, finals are over (I found out I got the date wrong for one of my exams an hour before it started. Walked in cold without studying and took the test in 45 minutes because I had an appointment I couldn't miss half an hour after it started... got a 92 on the damn thing and personally I think I'm an actual god), I was out of the country briefly, Passport Panic^tm, and of course, good old fashioned job huntin. Plus some minor writer's block. I'm not a fan of this chapter, but it's necessary. Anyway, here it is. Very short, next chapter is not ready to go and I have no outline for it yet so, yeah. May be a bop but not as bad as this last wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes, so the last couple of weeks have been awful, for everyone I'm sure. Haven't written anything in awhile and I miss the hell out of Lexa, so I decided to get back to it! This story is going to be a bit complex, I've got some of the plot laid out, but there are still parts I haven't quite ironed out. I have plans to continue this into a two part series (maybe more) and I'll have Lincoln involved in the next part. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please give me some feedback I'd love to hear it.  
> Again, my tumblr is here: http://nolifeloserwriting.tumblr.com/


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